Winter TBR

Let's see how I did with my Fall TBR (6/10): Finally a decent showing on a seasonal TBR pile.

1. Heirs and Graces by Rhys Bowen ✓

2. The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness ✓

3. Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco ✓

4. The Witches by Stacy Schiff

5. Feed by MT Anderson ✓

6. The Lives of the Monster Dogs by Kirsten Bakis

7. Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman ✓

8. The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J Ryan Stradal ✓

9. Craft a Life You Love by Amy Tangerine

10. The Hunger by Alma Katsu

Winter TBR: Lots of books that have been on my list awhile.

1. The Art of Theft by Sherry Thomas

2. Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

3. Friends without Benefits by Penny Reid

4. Kate Chopin by Emily Toth

5. The Lady from the Black Lagoon by Mallory O’Meara

6. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

7. The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

8. Well Met by Jen DeLuca

9. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

10. Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

Next up on the TBR pile:

2019 Wrap-up

Favorite Books of the Year (in no particular order):

1. Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin

2. All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness

3. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

4. Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

5. Smoke Gets in You Eyes by Caitlyn Doughty

6. Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

7. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

8. Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal

9. The Wicked + The Divine comic series

10. Wilder Girls by Rory Power 

Honorable Mentions: The HM category is reserved for rereads that I really loved.

• Persuasion by Jane Austen

Total Books Read – 255 books

Total Pages Read – 69,739 pages

I averaged 5811 pages per month.  My lowest month was October with only 4505 pages.  My highest month was August with 7185 pages.  I hope to read 50,000 pages next year.

Book Rating Stats 

• 5 stars — 93 books

• 4 stars — 103 books

• 3 stars — 46 books

• 2 stars — 11 books

• 1 star — 0 books

• DNFs — 1 books

Here’s the final breakdown:

• Perpetual 11/30 36.7%

• UnRead Shelf 21/50 42%

• Library Love 60/60 100%

• Ebooks 30/30 100%

• Random TBR Pick 12/12 100%

• Picture Books 70/70 100%

• Popsugar 35/40 87.5%

• Modern Mrs. Darcy 12/12 100%

• Finishing the Series 6/10 60%

• Alphabet Soup 22/26 84.6%

• Women Authors 30/30 100%

• Monthly Keyword 12/12 100%

• Monthly Motif 12/12 100%

• Literary Escapes 25/51 49%

• Nonfiction Bingo 17/25 68%

• Graphic Novel 52/52 100%

• Dancing with Fantasy and Science Fiction 21/51 41.2%

• Horror 10/10 100%

• Mystery 9/25 36%

• Romance 10/10 100%

• Historical Fiction 10/10 100%

• Creativity 2/10 20%

Total: 12/22 challenges  54.5% done

Total: 489/639 slots 76.5% done

Next up on the TBR pile:

Fall TBR

Ummm… oops! I completely forgot about my Fall TBR post until last night. Even though it’s a bit late, I’m moving forward and posting this season’s TBR.

Let's see how I did with my Summer TBR (3/10): Very slightly better than Summer’s TBR, but not a great showing.

1. Across the Universe by Beth Revis

2. Children of Blood and Bone by Toni Adeyemi

3. Booknotes by Brian Lamb - Done!

4. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch - Done!

5. Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix

6. The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Stephan Brusatte

7. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

8. Columbine by Dave Cullen - Done!

9. Solaris by Stanislaw Lem

10. Two Her Royal Spyness volumes

Fall TBR: Going for some of the books that I’m hoping to finish by the end of the year!

1. Heirs and Graces by Rhys Bowen

2. The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness

3. Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco

4. The Witches by Stacy Schiff

5. Feed by MT Anderson

6. The Lives of the Monster Dogs by Kirsten Bakis

7. Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

8. The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal

9. Craft a Life You Love by Amy Tangerine

10. The Hunger by Alma Katsu

Next up on the TBR pile:

Summer TBR

Let's see how I did with my Spring TBR (2/10): Ooof! I did not have a good showing this past season.

1. Across the Universe by Beth Revis

2. Children of Blood and Bone by Toni Adeyemi

3. Booknotes by Brian Lamb

4. Dark Matter by Black Crouch

5. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness ✓

6. Horrostor by Grady Hendrix

7. The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Stephan Brusatte

8. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

9. Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco ✓

10. Another Romance Series

Summer TBR: Since I had such a bad showing from my spring list, I’m going to carry over most of the unread titles to my summer list.

1. Across the Universe by Beth Revis

2. Children of Blood and Bone by Toni Adeyemi

3. Booknotes by Brian Lamb

4. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

5. Horrostore by Grady Hendrix

6. The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Stephan Brusatte

7. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

8. Columbine by Dave Cullen

9. Solaris by Stanislaw Lem

10. Two Her Royal Spyness volumes

Next up on the TBR pile:

Spring TBR

Let's see how I did with my Winter TBR (5/10): Only 50% completion, but I did knock off some books that have been on my TBR for awhile now. And I hope to get to the others soon for my UnRead Shelf Project…

1. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

2. In the Hurricane’s Eye by Nathaniel Philbrick

3. The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton ✓

4. The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar

5. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han ✓

6. Zorro by Isabel Allende ✓

7. Chronicles of St. Mary’s series by Jodi Taylor ✓

8. Ghostland by Colin Dickey

9. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

10. Eruption by Steve Olson ✓

Spring TBR:

1. Across the Universe by Beth Revis (own) — One of those library sale steals that has been languishing on my stacks even though I really wanted to read it when I bought it.

2. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (own) — I was gifted this a few months back and really want to dive in.

3. Booknotes by Brian Lamb (own) — Love my random U.S. History based books. Need to read this one from my bookshelves.

4. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch — A buzzy book I really need to read.

5. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness — I want to watch the television series, but need to read the books first…

6. Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix — I need to inject more horror into my reading life. I usually really enjoy it.

7. The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Stephen Brusatte — A new nonfiction book I really want to read.

8. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman — I’ve heard so many great things about this one. Need to read.

9. Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerry Maniscalco — I started this series and I really enjoyed the first book. I should pick up the second book.

10. Another romance series (own) — I have so many sitting on my shelves. Just need to pick one to start.

Next up on the TBR pile:

2018 Wrap-up

Favorite Books of the Year (in no particular order):

1. The Great Halifax Explosion by John U. Bacon

2. NOS4R2 by Joe Hill

3. Circe by Madeline Miller

4. For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

5. Paper Girls Vol. 1-4

6. Every Heart a Doorway (and sequels) by Seanan McGuire

7. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

8. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

9. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

10. Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

Honorable Mentions: The HM category is reserved for rereads that I really loved.

• Dracula by Bran Stoker

Total Books Read – 217 books

Total Pages Read – 59,137 pages!!!!!

I averaged 4928 pages per month.  My lowest month was August with only 3477 pages.  My highest month was June with 9362 pages.  I hope to read 45,000 pages next year.

Book Rating Stats 

• 5 stars — 90 books

• 4 stars — 92 books

• 3 stars — 32 books

• 2 stars — 2 books

• 1 star — 1 books

• DNFs —  0 books

Here’s the final breakdown:

Total: 10/16 challenges  62.5% done

Total: 477/491 slots 91.7% done

Overall Thoughts/Reflections/Musings/Ideas

2018 was a record year for reading! I’ve never gotten past 150 books in a year and here I am sitting at 217. Truly I don’t know how I did it. I do know that I prioritize reading as my downtime activity. But I also do read 15 minutes here and there while semi-engaged with other activities (monitoring kid bath time, watching for dinner to finish simmering, etc). I doubt that 2019 will see the same results, but I’m going to continue my reading.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Winter TBR

Let's see how I did with my Fall TBR (6/10):

1. Stealing Fire by Jo Graham

2. An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin ✓

3. Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield

4. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer ✓

5. Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye

6. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde ✓

7. Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant ✓

8. Strange Weather by Joe Hill ✓

9. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

10. One more comic! ✓

Winter TBR: I’m going with some of the books that I meant to read in 2018 and didn’t quite get around to it!

1. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

2. In the Hurricane’s Eye by Nathaniel Philbrick

3. The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton

4. The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar

5. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

6. Zorro by Isabel Allende

7. Chronicles of St. Mary’s series by Jodi Taylor

8. Ghostland by Colin Dickey

9. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

10. Eruption by Steve Olson

Next up on the TBR pile:

Fall TBR

Let's see how I did with my Summer TBR (3/10): Not the best showing for this past season…

1. College Girls by Lynn Peril ✓

2. Stealing Fire by Jo Graham

3. An Object of Beautify by Steve Martin

4. Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield

5. Daisy Miller by Henry James ✓

6. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

7. Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye

8. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

9. How to Fall in Loe with a Man Who Lives in a Bush by Emmy Abrahamson ✓

10. What Could Possible Go Wrong by Jodi Taylor

Fall TBR: I’m going to carry over a few books as I really do want to read them soon.

1. Stealing Fire by Jo Graham

2. An Object of Beautify by Steve Martin

3. Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield

4. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

5. Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye

6. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

7. Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

8. Strange Weather by Joe Hill

9. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

10. One more comic!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Summer TBR

Somehow I completely missed posting my Summer TBR post back when summer started... (For the record, it was supposed to be posted in June). So I'm back on track:

Let's see how I did with my Spring TBR:

1. A Magical Match by Juliet Blackwell 
2. Rest of the Bedwyn Saga by Mary Balogh ✓
3. Another romance series
4. Out of Africa by Isak Denison ✓
5. The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan 
6. The Rose Labyrinth by Titania Hardie ✓
7. Two Chronicles of St. Mary's books by Jodi Taylor 
8. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff  ✓
9. Solaris by Stansilaw Lem 
10. Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay ✓

Summer TBR:

1. College Girls by Lynn Peril -- Been on my shelf for way too long
2. Stealing Fire by Jo Graham -- Another long shelf occupier
3. An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin -- Ditto
4. Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield -- I loved The Thirteenth Tale and have high hopes for this one
5. Daisy Miller by Henry James -- Classic I haven't read yet
6. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer -- I picked up a copy way back in February after repeatedly hearing about it. I should finally read this one
7. Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye -- The newest addition to my bookshelf
8. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith -- On my perpetual list
9. How to Fall in Love with a Man Who Lives in a Bush by Emmy Abrahamson -- Random book I got at Christmas
10. What Could Possibly Go Wrong by Jodi Taylor -- I love this series so much but have neglected it for far too long

Next up on the TBR pile:

Top Ten Tuesday -- Spring TBR

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

How it works:

I assign each Tuesday a topic and then post my top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join me and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.

Let's see how I did with my Winter TBR pile: 6 out of 10 books reads. I will take it! 

1. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon ✓
2. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman ✓
3. Nefertiti by Michelle Moran ✓
4. No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor ✓
5. Tales from the 1001 Nights by Richard Burton ✓
6. A Summer to Remember by Mary Balogh ✓
7. Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien
8. A History of the Wife by Marilyn Yalom
9. NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
10. Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Spring TBR:

1. A Magical Match by Juliet Blackwell -- Really want to read the newest Witchcraft Mystery book. Love these cozy mysteries.
2. Rest of the Bedwyn Saga by Mary Balogh -- I've read the two prequels, now I would like to read the six main books. Would love to enjoy these and free up room on shelves.
3. Another romance series -- Really any series that's currently sitting in my unread piles.
4. Out of Africa by Isak Denison -- One of those classics that's been on my TBR list for a very long time.
5. The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan -- A nonfiction pick I've been really excited to read.
6. The Rose Labyrinth by Titania Hardie -- Random read from my unread shelves.
7. Two Chronicles of St. Mary's books by Jodi Taylor -- Love this series! Haven't read a volume for awhile now. Really want to get this moving again.
8. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff -- Keeps popping up on podcasts and blogs I follow. Guess I really need to read this soon.
9. Solaris by Stansilaw Lem -- Classic science fiction that I would like to get to.
10. Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay -- Another big podcast and blog recommendation.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Top Ten Tuesday -- Been on My TBR the Longest

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

How it works:

I assign each Tuesday a topic and then post my top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join me and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.

I'm sad to say that there are definitely some books sitting on my unread shelves that have been there for years... A few of these are actually on my short list for this year. Hopefully I can decrease this list soon.

1. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
2. Duchess of Aquitaine by Margaret Ball
3. Ireland by Frank Delaney
4. The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
5. Contact by Carl Sagan
6. Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir
7. The Sweetness at the Bottom of a Pie by Alan Bradley
8. Born for Liberty by Sara Evans
9. The Devlin Diary by Christie Phillips
10. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

Next up on the TBR pile:

Top Ten Tuesday -- Meant to Read in 2017

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. 

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

At the end of every year, there are books that I just didn't get to. Seems like that list gets longer each year. Possibly I will get to some of these in 2018. Here are 2017's leftover reads:

1. Discworld series by Terry Pratchett -- This could just be my Top 10, but instead I'll only put it on here once. I started the ~41 book Discworld series way back at the beginning of 2017 and then just never picked the series back up. Hoping to add this back onto my 2018 TBR list.
2. The Kingdom of Ohio by Matthew Flaming -- Part of my Read Your Book Shelf challenge that I just dropped the ball on. I'm still wanting to read this one soon...
3. The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl -- Ditto #2
4. An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin -- Ditto #2
5. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey -- J and I have been meaning to read this series so we can watch The Expanse. Just never got around to it.
6. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin -- Another great scifi book I really wanted to get to.
7. Foundation by Isaac Asimov -- Another scifi one...
8. A Summer to Remember by Mary Balogh -- I was hoping to continue the Bedwyn Saga after the first prequel, but I just didn't pick this one up yet.
9. Tales from the 1001 Nights by Richard Burton -- Classic that I haven't read. Putting this one for January's TBR list to hoping knock this one out.
10. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon -- Been meaning to reread this one to then read the third book in the series. Putting this on my Finishing the Series challenge for 2018.

Next up on the TBR pile:

2017 Wrap-up

Favorite Books of the Year

1. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor
2. The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
3. You're Doing a Great Job by Biz Ellis and Theresa Thorn
4. The Wicked + The Divine series
5. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
6. Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine
7. The Mummy by Anne Rice
8. Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
9. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
10. A Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner

Honorable Mentions: The HM category is reserved for rereads that I really loved.

• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
• The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Total Books Read – 123 books

Total Pages Read – 36,664 pages!!!!!

I averaged 3055 pages per month.  My lowest month was January with only 1793 pages.  My highest month was March with 3966 pages.  I hope to read 35,000 pages next year.

Book Rating Stats

• 5 stars — 59 books
• 4 stars — 44 books
• 3 stars — 16 books
• 2 stars — 4 books
• 1 star — 0 books
• DNFs — 2  books

Reading Challenges

Here’s the final breakdown:

• Perpetual 20/20  100%
• Mount TBR 56/60 93.3%
• Read Your Book Shelf 7/10 70%
• Popsugar 39/70 97.5%
• Retellings 12/12 100%
• What's in a Name 3/6 50%
• Discworld 1/12 8.3%
• Back to the Classics 4/6  66.7%
• New to Me 20/20 100%
• Wired into Scifi 0/10 0%
• Graphic Novels 24/24 100%
• Library Love 24/24 100%
• Picture Books 92/92 100%

Total: 6/13 challenges  46.2% done

Total: 302/336 slots  89.9% done

Overall Thoughts/Reflections/Musings/Ideas

I think 2017 was a good reading year. I surpassed my page and book number targets. I also knocked off a ton of books that either sat on my unread shelves or had been on my TBR for what seemed like forever. I didn't do much rereading. However, I think the fact that over half of my reads ended up being 4 or 5 star reads, I'm okay not rereading. I've got my January stack of books all ready to dive in and get 2018 started. 

Next up on the TBR pile:

Top Ten Tuesday: I Hope Santa Brings

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. 

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Top Ten Tuesday: Winter TBR Pile

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. 

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

Let's see how I did with my Fall TBR pile: 4 out of 10 is not very good... 

1. An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin
2. Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine ✓
3. Hidden Figures by Margot Shetterly ✓
4. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
5. Logan's Run by William F. Nolan
6. The Mummy by Anne Rice ✓
7. Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor
8. A Summer to Remember by Mary Balogh  
9. The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton ✓
10. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

Winter TBR:

1. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon -- I must finish this before the new year.
2. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman -- Our book club selection for January. Excited to read this one.
3. Nefertiti by Michelle Moran -- Been on my shelf for way too long. 
4. No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor -- Really want to continue this series...
5. Tales from the 1001 Nights by Richard Burton -- Another classic I haven't read before.
6. A Summer to Remember by Mary Balogh -- Another series I want to continue reading.
7. Birthmarked by Caragh O’Brien -- Random pick off my shelves
8. A History of the Wife by Marilyn Yalom -- A nonfiction pick that's been gathering dust on the shelf.
9. NOS4A2 by Joe Hill -- Random Kindle read
10. Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery -- A classic I haven't read in years and years. Would like to do a reread.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Top Ten Tuesday: Fall TBR Pile

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. 

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

I used to love doing these quarterly TBR pile posts, and yet I somehow missed Summer 2017's post. Weird... No idea what happened there. Oh well. Let's get back on track and check out my choices for my Fall TBR.

1. An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin -- One of those Read You Book Shelf books. Been on there too long, I need to finally read it.
2. Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine -- Really loving The Great Library series. Can't wait to read book 3!
3. Hidden Figures by Margot Shetterly -- Our October book club selection and one I've been wanting to read for awhile now. J and I watched the movie and loved it. I'm ready to dive in to the book.
4. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells -- For my scifi reading challenge. This one will be a reread for me, but it's been at least 10 years.
5. Logan's Run by William F. Nolan -- Another scifi reading challenge pick. How have i not read this one yet? Love the cheesy movie!
6. The Mummy by Anne Rice -- I'm participating in Gather Together and Read's readalong in October. Read this one years and years ago. Hoping it's as good as I remember.
7. Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor -- Another Read Your Book Shelf book.
8. A Summer to Remember by Mary Balogh -- Hoping to continue the Bedwyn Saga books. 
9. The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton -- This list needed a literary classic that I haven't read. How about some Wharton?
10. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon -- I will finish this book! Been stuck halfway through for months now. I just keep picking other books up. I need to knock this one out!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Top Ten Tuesday: Oldies but Goodies!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

This week's topic is a freebie. I decided to go with one of the suggested themes: favorite books from my first year of blogging. I started my blog in November 2010, but didn't really started reviewing books until 2011. I'm going to count my first year as January to December 2011. As a note, I did not include rereads on this list. I ended up rereading a ton of great classics in 2011, but didn't want those on my list. Let's see what my favorite books were in that first year...

1. Austenland by Shannon Hale -- Love this romance featuring an obsession with Jane Austen. Bonus points: I loved the movie version!
2. Autumn by David Moody -- Such an unsettling zombie series (in a great way).
3. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore -- Love this graphic novel! 
4. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan -- Another good zombie series. Not as scary as Autumn, but I really loved it.
5. Fables Series by Bill Willingham -- My favorite comic series!
6. The Prestige by Christopher Priest -- The level of suspense throughout this novel is amazing!
7. Soulless by Gail Carriger -- Such great steampunk paranormal fun!
8. The Affinity Bridge by George Mann -- Another great steampunk novel. Can't believe I haven't read the rest of the series yet.
9. The Walking Dead Series by Robert Kirkman -- Another favorite comic series.
10. The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff -- Loved the magical realism focus in this one. I'm not finding her latest book (Fates and Furies) very interesting at all.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Top Ten Tuesday -- Spring TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010.

1. The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett -- I need to get back on the Discworld train.
2. A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor -- Really loving the Chronicles of St. Mary's series. I have the next book, just need to start it.
3. The Golden Prince by Rebecca Dean -- As part of the Read Your Book Shelf Challenge. I started strong, but haven't began March's selection.
4. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah -- Our May book club selection. I'm really excited to read (or perhaps listen) to this one.
5. 1984 by George Orwell -- Feeling like it's time for a reread.
6. Logan’s Run by William F. Nolan -- I can't believe I have never read this one.
7. One Woman, One Vote by Marjorie Wheeler -- I need to read about a successful social movement.
8. Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman -- Another classical reread that I need to get to soon.
9. Another Comic -- I got off my track with this challenge. Need more comics in my life.
10. A Classic -- I haven't even started this reading challenge. I need to get it going.

Books to Movies

Since it's New (to Me) Movie January, I've been thinking a lot about movies. Specifically I've been thinking about all the books that I've enjoyed that I would love to see come alive on the big screen. So today's let's talk books to movies. Let's start with those that have already been made into movies, there are a few standouts to me.

Stardust and Coraline from Neil Gaiman -- I though both of these movies were great adaptations of Gaiman's work. The visuals in Stardust are great. And the Other Mother from Coraline is terrifying even in animated form.

Pride and Prejudice from Jane Austen (obviously!) -- The BBC version is the definitive, although I do enjoy the Keira Knightley version on occasion. Jennifer Ehle is Elizabeth Bennett and Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy is perfection is itself.

All the Harry Potter Movies from J.K. Rowling -- I know they had to cut a lot out of the storyline to fit into the movies, but I still really enjoyed all of these movies. My favorite is the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Outlander series from Diana Gabaldon -- I know it's not a movie, but a tv series was the right way to go with these books. The story is just too extensive. So far, I've loving the series and can't wait until it returns. But I better get reading so I can get ahead of the storyline.

The Prestige from Christopher Priest -- Christopher Nolan really captured the feel of this book. Oh so good.

On to those that I'm looking forward to seeing sometime in 2017.

The Handmaid's Tale from Margaret Atwood -- This book gutted me. I can't wait to see what they do to bring it to the big screen.

The Circle from Dave Eggers -- I actually haven't read this book yet, but it's on my short list.

Murder on the Orient Express from Agatha Christie -- A new adaptation of this classic story. This time directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh. I love a classic mystery.

Annihilation from Jeff VanderMeer -- OMG! This trilogy was so weird, but oh so right. I am concerned that the movie won't do the weirdness of the book justice, but I guess will just have to wait and see.

Ready Player One from Ernest Cline -- For all the video game lovers out there. I'm so interested to see what they do with this book...

And finally I turn to those books that I would love to see turned into movies. Did you know that there are actually people that set up odds for which books will become movies in the coming year? I think this kind of speculation is fascinating!  As to my own thoughts, I would love to see the following books turned into movies:

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Cinder (all of The Lunar Chronicles series) by Marissa Meyer

Saga series by Brian K Vaughan

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation (series) by Lauren Willig

2016 Wrap-up

Favorite Books of the Year

1. The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman
2. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
3. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
4. Bunker Hill by Nathaniel Philbrick
5. Valiant Ambition by Nathaniel Philbrick
6. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
7. Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink
8. Forevermore by Kristen Calihan
9. The Lost by Sarah Beth Durst
10. Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Honorable Mentions: The HM category is reserved for rereads that I really loved.

• The Magicians by Lev Grossman
• The Magician King by Lev Grossman
• Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood 
• The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Total Books Read – 132 books

Total Pages Read – 38,650 pages!!!!!

I averaged 3221 pages per month.  My lowest month was December with only 1421 pages.  My highest month was January with 4951 pages.  I hope to read 35,000 pages next year.

Book Rating Stats 

• 5 stars — 57 books
• 4 stars — 52 books
• 3 stars —  20 books
• 2 stars — 3 books
• 1 star —0 books
• DNFs — 2 books

Reading Challenges

Here’s the final breakdown:

• Perpetual 20/20 100%
• Read My Own Damn Books 40/40 100%
• I Love Libraries 24/24  100%
• Nonfiction 20/20 100%
• Popsugar 32/40 80%
• What's in a Name 3/6  50%
• Fairytale Retelling 7/10  70%
• Book to Movie 10/10 100%
• Finishing the Series 5/6  83.3%
• Graphic Novel 36/52  69.2%
• Women Authors 20/20  100%
• 52 Books in 52 Weeks  100%
• Picture Books 100/100  100%

Total: 8/13 challenges  61.5% done

Total:  369/400 slots  92.3% done

Overall Thoughts/Reflections/Musings/Ideas

2016 was a decent year of reading. I finished a couple of series, knocked a few books off my perpetual lists, and enjoyed some 5 star reads. Predictably, my reading pace slowed considerably after Quentin arrived at the end of September. But hopefully I can bring my reading back up to at least 30 minutes a day in 2017.