Reading Goals: 2017 Re-cap

Every so often, people ask me, "How many books to do you read?"

It's a question I never knew the answer to because I had never thought about keeping track. Reading wasn't a competition, nor was I attempting to attain a medal for it. I never set reading goals. I just read.

However, the question got asked more and more often, and so last summer, I decided to keep track. I wrote down how many books I'd read the summer of 2016 and kept at it once school began in the fall. And between June 2016 and December 2016, I had read 88 books.

Close to 100 books, and that was missing 5 months!

So for 2017, I decided to keep track for the whole year. Each month, I would jot down the title of each book as I finished it. On average, I read about 10 books a month. Some months I read more, some less. Length and genre varied, although I did try to push myself to read one non-fiction book a month  (and didn't always succeed).

And... I ended 2017 with 152 books under my belt! 

Anyway... for those of you who are curious, here's what I read in 2017. (Note: An asterisk (or more than one) beside a book means it was a favorite read for that month; I chose not to mark any books I didn't like, although there are only 2 or 3 that I didn't care for at all and wouldn't recommend to anyone to read).

My goal for 2018 will be to create a post after every month (along with a short review of each book), so there isn't this super long post at the end of the year. And I recognize that I could use Goodreads, but eh...

General Stats

Longest Book: Little Women       Shortest Book: The Little Prince

January 2017

1.  Sleeping Freshman Never Lie by David Lubar*
2.  Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies by Erin Dionne
3. Commonwealth by Ann Patchet*
4. Prejudice meets Pride by Rachel Anderson
5. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
6. Still Life with Tornado by A.S. King***
7. Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum
8. The Cardturner by Louis Sachar
9. Pax by Sara Pennypacker*
10. Wires and Nerves (graphic novel in Lunar Chronicles series) by Marissa Meyer

February 2017

1. Deep Dish by Mary Kay Andrews
2. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi***
3. This is My Brain on Boys by Sarah Strohmeyer
4. A Portrait of Emily Price by Katharine Reay
5. Sophomores and other Oxymorons by David Lubar*
6. A Week of Mondays by Jessica Brody
7. Flying Lessons and other short stories edited by Ellen Oh (We Need Diverse Books)
8. Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye

March 2017

1. House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
2. Hidden Places by Lynn Austin
3. Worth the Wait (a novella) by Karen Witemeyer
4. She Reads Truth by Raechel Meyers and Amanda Bible Williams
5. As Old As Time: A Twisted Tale by Liz Brazwell
6. My (Not So) Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella*
7. The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez*
8. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien*
9. Racso and the Raths of NIMH by Jane Leslie Conly
10. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi*

April 2017

1. Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan*
2. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas***
3. Taking Flight by Michaela DePrince
4. The Art of Holding On and Letting Go by Kristen Bartley Lenz
5. We are all made of molecules by Susin Nielsen
6. Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes
7. For the Love by Jen Hatmaker
8. The Truth About Twinkie Pie by Kat Yeh*
9. The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
10. The Cinderella Pact by Sarah Strohmeyer
11. The Sleeping Beauty Proposal by Sarah Strohmeyer
12. Daughter of a Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller***

May 2017  (Note: This month, I was really into reading series)

1. Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins
2. Miss Mayhem (Rebel Belle #2) by Rachel Hawkins
3. Lady Renegades (Rebel Belle #3) by Rachel Hawkins
4. Etiquette and Espionage (Finishing School #1) by Gail Carriger
5. Curtsies and Conspiracies (Finishing School #2) by Gail Carriger
6. Waistcoats and Weaponry (Finishing School #3) by Gail Carriger
7. Manners and Mutiny (Finishing School #4) by Gail Carriger
8. The Twits by Roald Dahl
9. The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl
10. Esio Trot by Roald Dahl
11. The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl
12. Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
13. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine***a favorite re-read every year***
14. Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
15. Mark of a Thief by Jennifer A. Nielsen*
16. Rise of the Wolf (Mark of a Thief #2) by Jennifer A. Nielsen*
17. Wrath of the Storm (Mark of a Thief #3) by Jennifer A. Nielsen*
18. Princess Academy by Shannon Hale*
19. Princess Academy: Palace of Stone (Princess Academy #2) by Shannon Hale
20. Princess Academy: The Forgotten Sisters (Princess Academy #3) by Shannon Hale
21. The Magic Mirror by Susan Hill Long*
22. To All The Boys I Loved Before by Jenny Han*
23. P.S. I Still Love You (To All The Boys, #2) by Jenny Han
24. Enchanted (Woodcutter Sisters #1) by Alethea Kontis
25. Hero (Woodcutter Sisters #2) by Alethea Kontis
26. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein*

June 2017

1. Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics by Chris Grabenstein*
2. Always and Forever, Lara Jean (To All The Boys, #3) by Jenny Han
3. Crimes Against a Book Club by Kathy Cooperman
4. The Heir by Kiera Cass*
5. The Crown by Kiera Cass*
6. The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson

July 2017

1. The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones
2. Jemima J by Jane Green
3. The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
4. Hidden Figures (Young Readers' Edition) by Margo Lee Shetterly 
5. The Queen of Katwe by Tim Crothers*
6. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson***
7. When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon*
8. The Merchant's Daughter by Melanie Dickerson
9. Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple

August 2017

1. Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine*
2. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett*
3. The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
4. The Little Prince by Antoine de  Saint-Exupéry
5. Pinned by Sharon G. Flake*
6. Jane in Austin by Hillary Manton Lodge*
7. Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary
8. Henry and Beezus by Beverly Cleary
9. Henry and Ribsy by Beverly Cleary
10. Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary
11. Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch
12.  In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord
13.  Henry and the Paper Route by Beverly Cleary
14.  Henry and the Clubhouse by Beverly Cleary
15.  The Assistants by Camille Perri
16.  Risby by Beverly Cleary
17.  Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary

September 2017

1. Believing Jesus by Lisa Harper*
2.  Not Quite Dating by Catherine Bybee
3.  Not Quite Mine by Catherine Bybee
4.  Not Quite Enough by Catherine Bybee
5.  Of Mess and Moxie by Jen Hatmaker
6.  Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary
7.  Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
8.  Ramona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary
9.  The Wishing Season by Denise Hunter
10.  A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett*
11.  Married 'til Monday by Denise Hunter
12.  Not Quite Forever by Catherine Bybee
13.  Beyond All Dreams by Elizabeth Camden
14.  Ramona, age 8 by Beverly Cleary
15.  Ramona Forever by Beverly Cleary

October 2017

1. My Heart Remembers by Kim Vogel Sawyer
2. Ramona's World by Beverly Cleary
3. Love's Unfolding Dream by Janette Oke
4. Love Takes Wing by Janette Oke
5. Love Finds a Home by Janette Oke
6. Reading People by Anne Bogel
7. The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee
8. The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert
9. The Dazzling Heights by Katharine McGee
10. Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith***

November 2017

1. Love, Lies, and Spies by Cindy Anstey***
2. Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal
3. The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr***
4. Anne of Green Gables (graphic novel) adapted by Mariah Marsden; illustrated by Brenna Thummler
5. Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time (graphic novel) adapted by Hope Larson
6. The Scourge by Jennifer A. Nielsen
7. Elliot and the Goblin War by Jennifer A. Nielsen
8. Slacker by Gordan Korman
9. Restart by Gordan Korman
10. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead***
11. Elliot and the Pixie Plot by Jennifer A. Nielsen

December 2017

1.  Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe by Melissa de la Cruz
2.  Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon
3.  Elliot and the Last Underworld by Jennifer A. Nielsen
4.  The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay
5.  Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary by Walter Dean Myers
6.  Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant
7.  Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo
8.  What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons
9.  Brave by Svetlana Chmakova
10.  Duels and Deception by Cindy Anstey
11.  Dear Fahrenheit 451 by Annie Spence
12.  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
13.  Wishtree by Katherine Applegate
14.  Persuasion, Captain Wentworth, and Cracklin' Cornbread by Mary Jane Hathaway
15.  Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu***
16.  Show Your Work by Austin Kleon
17.  Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
18.  Little Women by Louisa May Alcott