Yay, 2017 Is Finally Over!
Have I told you how much I despise composing wrap-up posts? No? Well I do. These things are work which is probably why I haven't done one since March! I love reading them but composing them, ugh, they are far too much work for my lazy self. Fortunately I had a snow day yesterday and had some time to get my act together.
Somehow I managed to finish up 72 books which was just three books shy of my original goal. I guess that isn't too bad since I hit a slump in October that lasted through December. I read a good mix of genres thanks to audiobooks but mostly stuck to my horror roots in the latter half of the year.
- I read 59 new to me authors! That's not too shabby.
- I had 8 five star reads! Also not too shabby taking into consideration what a grouch I am.
- 33 earned four stars
- 20 earned three stars
- 4 earned two stars
- 0 earned one star because I learned to DNF!
- 5 of them were DNF's
- My biggest disappointment would have to be The Bird Eater because I wanted to love it so damn bad and I just couldn't.
The Best of the Best of My 2017 Reads
(click on cover to read my full review)
Bones Would Rain from the Sky
This is a book about our relationships with dogs. There are beautiful insights about animal and human behavior inside the pages and it basically comes to down to treating those you love with kindness, empathy and sharing all of your love in order to strengthen your relationship. That’s advice the world needs to hear. This book will be a yearly reread for me, for sure.
Garden of Fiends
Puss In Prada
This novella was such a cute and surprising little romance about a finicky cat man and his ex-lover. I picked it up somewhere as freebie and honestly wasn't expecting all that much. It has a spiteful witch, magic and a feisty little cat man. What's not to love?
The Lesser Dead
My friend Char @ Char's Horror Corner loved this book and she and I have very similar taste. I listened on audio and it was everything she said it would be. Sarcastic, imaginative, gross and so much bloodsucking fun. Honestly, how can you resist a book whose hero is named Joey Peacock?
Blanky
I read this book for a book tour hosted by Confessions of a Reviewer. I don't participate in book tours often and only agree to do so after I research the author's previous work because I am truly greedy with my spare time and don't want to be forced into finishing a dud. This book was anything but a dud. It is gutting. If you like horror and are up for a grief drenched read, you must read it.
We Have Always Lived In the Castle
This was a re-listen for the Goodreads Horror Aficionados monthly group read. Merricat and her creepy old house and deep dark secrets were just as riveting the second time around. If you haven't read this classic yet it is a MUST.
Burnt Offerings
This is one of those books I'd been wanting to read for ages. I saw the movie as a kid and only had very fuzzy memories lingering around the edges of it being super creepy and maybe giving me a nightmare or two. I was a little worried it would be too old fashioned, slow and, dare I say it, boring because I'd read a few oldies prior to this (I'm looking at you Audrey Rose) and they didn't live up to the hype or my vague memories of scariness. This one, though, this one wasn't any of those things.It was fantastic!
The Wife Between Us
I won this book from Bookish First after writing a mini review of the excerpt. Weird concept, I know, but I won a genuine book and it was amazing so you will hear no more complaints from me! It's rife with secrets and lies and deceptions and the women were actually sympathetic instead of being complete and total hot messes. I've noticed now that many people dislike it but I ♥ it and nothing I hear will change my mind!
The 4 Stars
The Smack in the Middle 3's
The 2 Star's
The Unfinishables
Now it's back to hibernating!
Sounds like you had a great year! And I am totally looking for Puss In Prada now!
ReplyDeleteI thought it wa's so much fun. I hope you enjoy it too!
DeleteI do love reading these wrap up posts but you are right it takes some work to add up all of the stats. That may be why you don't see many stats on my wrap ups :) You read some great books this year.
ReplyDeleteAll those pics were a real pain! Yeah, it was a pretty good reading year :) I only wish I could've read more. Maybe this year.
DeleteGreat post, as always! :) I DNF'd about 10 books this year, so you did better than me in that regard. And 59 new authors is impressive. Here's hoping you don't hit any more bookish slumps in 2018.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lark. Good on you for DNFing 10! I need to know when to quit earlier on.
DeleteWrap up posts are work! I do love reading them though. Seems like a greta number of books considering your slump. Hope you have a great 2018 :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Grace! 2018 surely can't be worse than 2017.
DeleteI've got Snow on my tbr and plan to look at it this year sometime. I have heard mixed reviews of it so I know it might not be great! Yeah wrap up and update posts do feel like hard work!
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a better time of it than I did, Chuckles. It is much loved so it may have just been me.
DeleteI love how you listed all of your books by stars. I have never read The Bird Eater. I'm sad to see you were disappointed by it. I'll read it eventually.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy it more than I did, Jennifer!
DeleteI don't like doing wrap up posts either, although I'll read everybody else's lol. Garden of Fiends looks like a trip, and I've been wanting to read The Wife Between Us after seeing a good review. Glad you liked it too.
ReplyDeleteFive Stories High and Let Us Prey look interesting,mostly for those covers. :)
I hope you get a chance to read Garden of Fiends & The Wife Between Us. I'd love to read your thoughts.
DeleteSounds like a good reading year to me. I know how hard the last few months of 2017 were for you and know you were in my thoughts. Holidays can be rough when something like that happens. I'm glad to see you back in the blogging world but hope the time away was healing and restful. I STILL need to read We Have Always Lived in Castle. I love the cover you have shown here!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Barb. I think I may finally be bouncing back. I did a lot of tv watching, exercising and moping about, to be honest. My back feels good (knock on wood) but my heart still hurts. I go back and forth with wanting a golden puppy and then I decide to wait and give my Bailey one on one time instead . And he's a tad grumpy and might not like a puppy as much as me.
DeleteYou really do need to get going on We Have Always Lived in the Castle! I think you will love it.
you discovered 59 authors and read 72 books?? That's awesome! I didn't know you despised writing wrap-up posts! :) So THANK YOU for doing it :) I see many books here I loved (like Wonder) and that I will be reading this year (Furiously happy). I'll check out your 5 stars books.Three of them look so dark (yay!)
ReplyDeleteThanks but I still can't help like feeling a bit like a blogging failure, you know? I feel like I should reading ALL the books :) You must read Furiously Happy. It's such a great book!
DeleteI'm bad with end of the year stats because, other than how many total books read, I don't keep track lol I'm such a bad blogger :-)
ReplyDeleteI think you did great. I know what you mean though...I read over 200 books last year and still feel like I only scratched the surface. I didn't get to what everyone else recommended and only made a tiny dent in my physical TBR pile.
<a href="http://http://www.fwiwreviews.net/</a>
It really is a pain to keep track of them. I rely on Goodreads. If if weren't for that site, I wouldn't have a clue. I used to keep an Excel spreadsheet way back before I was on the internet.
DeleteIt's so hard to want to read all the books and not have the time!