Number Of Books You Read: 94
Number of Re-Reads: 8
Genre You Read The Most From: Horror / Classics / Short Stories
1. Best Book You Read In 2017?
(If you have to cheat — you can break it down by genre if you want or 2017 release vs. backlist)
I usually have to cheat and can't choose a favorite, but The Stand by Stephen King is hands down the best book I've ever read. All-time favorite novel. Go read it!
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
This was hands down the most disappointing book I've read all year. I thought this was going to be an all-time favorite and it was a bust. So disappointed.
Runner Ups:
I expected more from all of these books and was let down. Beasts Made of Night and Glamour were DNFs. Just so disappointed that these didn't meet my expectations.
3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
I had no clue what to expect going into Akata Witch and I absolutely adored it. I gave it 4.5 stars and it was such a lovely surprise! I highly recommend this one to fantasy, MG, and YA readers.
Runner Ups:
All of these books, with the exception of Fahrenheit 451, I thought I would like, but I absolutely adored all of these novels. They all blew me away in different ways and are all rated above 4 stars! Fahrenheit 451 was a reread for me. I originally gave it 2 stars and upon reread gave it 4 stars and consider it to a groundbreaking novel that deserves all the love it has gotten!
4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers and The Things They Carried are books that my friends are family actually picked up based on my recommendation and they were also well-loved. My recommendations have some merit!
5. Best series you started in 2017? Best Sequel of 2017? Best Series Ender of 2017?
I actually plan on continuing with only these two series, so they are my best series starters! Both received 4.5 stars from me.
Best Sequel/ Series Ender:
I had little success with the few sequels I read in 2017. The only one worth mentioning and the only one that was above 3 stars was A Court of Wings and Ruin, which I gave 5 stars to and it's my favorite in the trilogy that follows Feyre.
6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2017?
I've already read another Richard Yates novel, but I plan on picking up these other three authors out of all the other new to me ones because I really liked their writing style and could myself reading their backlist for sure.
7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
I don't read a lot of poetry, so rating Of Poetry & Protest 4.5 stars and absolutely loving it was a complete surprise. I can't recommend this collection enough! It's important to in today's social climate and it's a wonderful collection that I wish more people talked about. I also don't read a lot of memoir nonfiction, but I loved Shane Dawson's sophomore novel, It Gets Worse. It was hilarious, heart-felt, and it made me cry. I gave 4.75 stars and while Shane isn't the best writer, he can definitely tell a story.
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Action-Packed:
So much happened in this novel. It's a huge novel and I expected it to be action-packed, but I didn't know what to expect and this blew me away.
Thrilling:
The mystery of why and how Dolores Claiborne killed her husband is so suspenseful. I flew through this book in a busy part of the semester and I couldn't stop reading. I had to find out the how and why. If you want something to placate your love for conspiracy theories and corrupt government agencies then look no further. Firestarter is the perfect novel for you and when things get intense they get bloody! I love alien stories and it's no surprise that I was a fan the much-hated The Tommyknockers. Many will hate it, but I loved it and I had to know what was going to happen.
Unputdownable:
I read Daughters Unto Devils in under a week. I gobbled this horror novel up. It only took me four days to read A Court of Wings and Ruin's 705 pages. I flew through this novel and I had to move out of a dorm and try out for color guard for next season all in this time frame. This was my book crack. The Outsiders is another novel I couldn't put down and I absolutely loved reading about the Greasers and Ponyboy's friend
9. Book You Read In 2017 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
I probably won't reread any of these next year, but I definitely would love to revisit these someday.
10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2017?
11. Most memorable character of 2017?
Wavy and Kellen from All the Ugly and Wonderful Things have stuck with me since the beginning of 2017. I mean Dolores Claiborne is one the baddest women of all time and I love her. Of course, she's memorable! Literally all the characters from ACOWAR. Maas is great at creating memorable characters. Michael Hosea and Angel are two characters that I can't stop thinking about. There are so many amazing characters in The Stand. Some of my favorites are Nick Andros, Mother Abigail, Tom Cullen, and even though I'm scared to death of Randall Flagg, he is memorable. Who can forget about the Wheelers? Not me. Frank and April Wheeler are two of the fleshed out characters I've read all 2017. Gatsby, what Gatsby? Enough said. Agnieszka, Sarkan, and Kasia are such memorable characters and I loved reading about them in Uprooted.
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2017?
13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2017?
These books are classics for a reason.
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2017 to finally read?
ALL OF THEM
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2017?
"Then you were breathing
gasoline as if it were flowers and abandoning yourself in the delirium
of love... and then you were face to face, in total darkness, with the
knowledge that you didn't know who you were."- Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2017?
Shortest:
I,
Cthulhu, or, What’s A Tentacle-Faced Thing Like Me Doing In A Sunken
City Like This (Latitude 47° 9′ S, Longitude 126° 43′ W)? by Neil Gaiman
8 pages
Longest:
The Stand by Stephen King
1,440 pages
17. Book That Shocked You The Most
(Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)
Don't sleep on Apt Pupil by Stephen King. It has one of the best endings I've ever read. The ending of Murder on the Orient Express saved this book from being a 3 star read. Donners of the Dead has the Donner Party as zombies. What is more jaw dropping than cannibals and zombies? When I Am Through with You left me speechless. Eileen was just crazy and a whirlwind.
18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)
(OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)
Feyre and Rhys
Agnieszka and Sarkan
Angel and Michael Hosea
19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
Friendship:
Red and Andy from the Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption
Gordie, Chris, Vern, and Teddy in The Body
Ponyboy and Johnny in The Outsiders
Tom Cullen and Nick Andros + the whole Bolder group + everyone's relationship with Mother Abigail in The Stand
Sunny, ChiChi, Orlo, and Sasha in Akata Witch
The Inner Circle in ACOWAR
Roland and Jake from The Gunslinger (still crying)
Familial:
Ponyboy, Sodapop, and Dary (brothers) in The Outsiders
Charlie and Andy McGee (daughter/father) in Firestarter
Feyre, Nesta, and Elain (sisters) in ACOWAR
Weird Twisted Psychotic Relationship (Power Struggle/Manipulation):
Todd and Dussander from Apt Pupil
Rainbird and Charlie in Firestarter
Randall Flagg and his followers in Vegas in The Stand
The Man in Black and Roland in The Gunslinger
20. Favorite Book You Read in 2017 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
All of the Stephen King books I read were over 4 stars. Solid author and he's my favorite author.
I love ACOTAR series, but I have yet to pick up anything else by Maas. Hoping to remedy that in the upcoming year.
1984 is one of my all-time favorite novels. I was so excited to get Animal Farm as a bday gift last year and immediately read it once 2017 started.
I preferred The Screwtape Letters to Mere Christianity. Both are solid, but this one was wonderful.
This is my favorite Stephanie Kuehn book that I've read out of two. I loved this one so much. It was a solid read.
I love Karina Halle's books. I've read the Devils duology (which is amazing) and two books in the Experiment in Terror series (really enjoyed them). I was super excited to pick another one of her horror novels.
Nenia Campbell is a good friend of mine, but I'm a huge fan of her Horrorscape trilogy. I also have enjoyed the other books that I've read by her and it was so much fun picking up her poetry collection.
21. Best Book You Read In 2017 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:
I came across a review on Off the Shelf and it convinced me that I needed to read Dolores Claiborne sooner rather than later. I quickly located my copy at a BooksAMillion and dived in. The reviewer was right!
Eileen was recommended by Katie over at Chapter Stackss. She talked about it a ton and when I saw it on Netgalley, I jumped on the chance to request a copy. I was excited when I was approved. Another recommendation that was 100% correct.
I could have gone my whole life without knowing that I,
Cthulhu, or, What’s A Tentacle-Faced Thing Like Me Doing In A Sunken
City Like This (Latitude 47° 9′ S, Longitude 126° 43′ W)? existed, but thankfully Tadiana's review popped up on my Goodreads feed and convinced me that I had to read it. She wasn't wrong. I loved it!
I had no clue Uprooted existed before I saw Emily May's review of it on Goodreads and she totally convinced me that I had to read it. I've heard since it's release that it's a hit or miss, but it was a hit for me and I'm so happy that I read Emily May's review because I may have passed this one up.
Everyone, even my own mother, has recommended The Outsiders to me. It was about time I finally picked up my copy.
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2017?
Sarkan or the Dragon from Uprooted was unruly and kind of a jerk, but he also has a heart of gold and eventually stole my heart alongside Agnieszka's.
Nick Andros from The Stand isn't supposed to be dreamy, but he is. I love him so much and I still can't. Forever in mourning
Michael Hosea from Redeeming Love is where it as it. What an amazing man.
Gabe from Outcast. He took Riley Cajun dancing. Be still my Louisiana native heart.
23. Best 2017 debut you read?
Hands down the best debut I read in 2017. Everyone go read this book!
24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
Velaris and the Night Court are dream settings, but the introduction of the Dawn Court made my jaw drop.
I mean East and West Egg are vivid because they are expressions of class and I can see it so clearly. Also the Valley of Ashes is one of the most memorable places in classic literature.
The Wood was horrifying and I was living for it. I am shook by the use of praying mantises.
I've loved Green Gables since I met it for the first time a couple of years ago. It's still a favorite place.
Post-apocalyptic U.S. is very scary, but King makes it scarier with the walks, bike rides, and car rides across country to Bolder, Colorado and Las Vegas, Nevada.
The town of Haven is integral to the story and the invasion of the Tommyknockers. I loved seeing so many different PoVs inside and outside of the town. I was able to get a full scope of the landscape.
The Wheelers idealistic house on Revolutionary Road is laid out bare and right in the open (thematic puns).
Some of the creatures and landmarks in The Gunslinger are horrifying and very real. I loved the vast walk through this Wasteland.
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Made Me Laugh:
ALL THE HAPPY FEELS:
I Was Trash For It:
26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2017?
The Water Works:
The Tear Jerkers:
The I Kept It Together, But Almost Lost It:
27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
See question 26 for an emotional breakdown of how much I cry while reading.
29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2017?
Unique Prose:
Unique World:
Unique Characteristic/Ability:
Unique Formatting:
30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
This book is misogynistic and disgusting. I raged so hard in the brief time that I read this before I DNFed it. Worst book I came across all year. Hands down.
H.P. Lovecraft can get boring and when he does... it sucks- big time. This is his worst work and it was a snooze fest. Absolutely horrible. I hated it.
I just hate this sermon with a passion.
This is the sequel to Ride Me Hard and it was disgusting. I absolutely loathed it.
I gave this book 3 stars, but in retrospect, it's probably a 2 star read. I was disgusted by the cheap ending and it made me hate this book. It was already boring, but the decision that Le Guin took with a particular character infuriated me.
I thought I was going to love this, but I found it mediocre. Also, Graysmith is biased and completely unreliable as a true crime source. He was asking to get stabbed when he confronted a person he suspected of being the Zodiac.
1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2017?
I've discovered a bunch of new blogs in 2017 and I can't get think of just one specific one.2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2017?
My favorite reviews were A Court of Mist and Fury (which I reviewed a whole year later WOW bad reviewer), A Court of Wings and Ruin (which I reviewed a couple of days after reading), and Uprooted (which I reviewed three days after finishing). My absolute favorite reviews were for Night of Cake & Puppets and Dreams of Gods & Monsters.3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
My favorite discussion post hands down was talking about my journey with Stephen King. Two of my favorite videos I filmed were ranking the Stephen King novels I've read and a review of The Stand.4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
I didn't participate any author events this year. I didn't do very many book tours either. I did get two physical ARCs this year sent by a publisher and not won in a giveaway and I had a lot of fun reading and reviewing those. The Highland Commander and Too Scot to Handle5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2017?
Reaching over a 100 subscribers on my BookTube channel was such a huge surprise and something I did not expect to happen. I'm so thankful to every single person who watches even just one minute of my videos.
6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?
Keeping up with reviews is always the most challenging thing I face. I used to be very efficient and would review books immediately after finishing them, but I hadn't done that much. It wasn't until 2017 that I started to try to review books after finishing them and I found it much more enjoyable to write reviews for those books.
7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
My review for The Pocketbook of Sunshine and Rain by Nenia Campbell has the most views (70).My most commented on post is my review for Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics.
8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
I wish I had more commenters on a lot of my posts. I don't get a whole lot of comments and I wished that I did because I love commenting back and interacting on my blog!9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
I bought a huge box of books from Book Outlet for Black Friday and it was so exciting.
10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
I completed my Goodreads goal of 85 books with completing 94. It was a huge surprise when I hit my goal the first week of December. I still haven't read Mistborn and it will probably another year before I pick it up because I know I'll love it, but I'm kind of intimidated by it. I did read The Gunslinger! I didn't continue with the series, but that's okay! I still haven't picked up an Austen novel, but I read a Dickens for the first time (Great Expectations), so I accomplished something! I didn't read any of the books that I said I was anticipating in 2017. I did purchase Strange the Dreamer, though, so that's a start.
1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2017 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2018?
Last year I said I wasn't going to set any goals, well I am this year.-I want to finish at least three series (five doesn't seem doable).
-I want to read five sequels (I don't have to finish the series).
-I also want to read four short story collections.
-I want to read three classics that are not Stephen King novels.
-I want to read five Stephen King novels (I've already read one in 2018).
Books That Are a Priority:
2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2018 (non-debut)?
3. 2018 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2018?
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