I saw this on Kayla’s channel, aka BooksandLala, and it seems like such a good way to start wrapping up the year before I bombard you with all of my favorites of the year. There are going to be three separate posts about that… Sorry not sorry. Anyway, Kayla pulled these from The Perpetual Page Turner‘s 200 questions. I’m just doing the ones Kayla did because I’m lazy, honestly.
1. How many books did you read?
According to Goodreads and as of December 30th at 4:07pm, I’ve read 238 books. I’ll probably hit 239 by the 1st, provided the rest of the night can be as devoted to reading as I would like. We’ll see how it goes.
2. Did you meet your goal?
Lol, let me tell you about my Goodreads goal. I hit it too quickly when I set it to 52 because I read a TON of romance novels at the beginning of this year to escape from law school because it was terrible. So I raised it to 100 and then I hit that too quickly so I raised it again to 200 because I don’t like to meet my goals too soon or something, idk. Anyway, I succeeded at reading over 200 books, but like, that goal was fake so it’s cool, but not that cool. So next year, I’m making my goal 100 and I’m not going to change it now matter how quickly I hit it.
3. Most read genre?
Romance. Easily. I think historical romance beat out contemporary romance, but I read over 100 romance novels this year.
4. Longest and shortest books you read.
The longest book I read this year was actually one I listened to on audio, The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. This is the sequel to The Name of the Wind and the audiobook was 42 hours and 59 minutes long because it is 994 pages.
The shortest book I read this year was Beyond Denial, a 15 page short story by Kit Rocha.
5. Favorite book published in 2017?
I cannot pick just one, y’all, I really can’t. Right now, this minute, we’ll go with The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli. But there’s also, Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai, which I adore so, so much. And then we have the light-hearted I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maureen Goo, which was so cute and happy and I just loved it so much. Honestly, WHO KNOWS?
However, since we’re going with The Upside of Unrequited, let’s talk about how Becky Albertalli wrote a book about a girl who is exactly who I was in high school to the point that I cried, had an anxiety attack, and then finished the rest of the book because it was so good and cathartic. It’s kind of terrifying to be that seen? I don’t know if that’s something that makes sense to anyone else, but I’m telling you, for me, it is terrifying. Also, I need to progress past Molly and embrace being Becky Albertalli. Haha.
6. Favorite debut book in 2017?
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas because how could I pick something else? But actually, I also adored Done Dirt Cheap which was also a debut. Also there was Saints and Misfits, which was absolutely incredible and so important. So those three are my top debuts of 2017 and I am absolutely picking up future books by all three authors.
The Hate U Give is one that I’m sure you’ve heard of and if you haven’t, I’m not sure how you’ve missed the phenomenon that is THUG. Angie Thomas writes such realistic and beautiful relationship dynamics between siblings, between parent and child, between parents, between neighbors, between classmates… You get the point. Angie Thomas is a Queen and I cannot wait to pick up her next book.
7. Favorite book not published this year?
Hold Me by Courtney Milan was published in 2016 and is absolutely one of my favorite books of the year. I didn’t know I was capable of caring more about Maria than Tina because Tina is so precious, and I really didn’t think I would care about Jay as much as I care about my little smol child, Blake, but uh… Yeah, I did. I do. Maria and Jay are the best couple to have ever coupled and I love them and their story so freaking much, I can’t stand it. This book is Milan at her most perfect, in my opinion, and I think Milan writes romance that is so believable and lovely and impactful so that’s saying something.
Another favorite of the year from pre-2017 was Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. An absolutely excellent YA Fantasy novel, honestly.
8. A book that lived up to the hype.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas has received so many awards and people in the online bookish community have lavished praise on this book because of how important it is. The importance is not at all an understatement, but also, the book is so well-written and the characters are so lovely that it absolutely deserves every bit of hype it gets.
I feel similarly about Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. This book was and is so remarkably well-written and Becky created characters you can’t help but fall in love with and utterly adore. Even the side characters are fully fleshed out and you just want them to all be happy. I’m so excited to see THUG and Love, Simon on the screen! It’s going to be a great year for adaptations in 2018, I just know it.
9. A book that did NOT live up to the hype.
The Vegetarian by Han Kang. This book is beloved by the lit fic world and has won awards, but goodness, I cannot tell you why. I hated this book. I think there’s a 90% chance that I’m just not smart enough for the book, but also, I’m a smart person so… Idk. I feel the same way about The Great Gatsby, like I must be missing something, but I’m pretty sure both books are just problematic af and I’m not here for that.
10. Book that felt like the biggest accomplishment?
Honestly, probably Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race because of how overwhelmingly reluctant I am to pick up nonfiction, especially nonfiction that isn’t in audio format or a memoir. This book was such a great read and I made it through fairly quickly and would absolutely recommend. But I definitely felt so accomplished for making it through!
11. Favorite character.
JUST ONE? How am I supposed to choose? Probably Livvy from Hate to Want You because I really related to her, even though we really don’t have much in common. Or Molly from Upside because same girl. Or Inej from Six of Crows because holy cow, batman. What an amazing human. Or NINA from Six of Crows cause my girl is a Hufflepuff and I love her. Or Collin from the Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn. Or Sera from The Day of the Duchess. Honestly, just there are so many characters I love.
12. Least favorite character.
Oh goodness. Right now it’s Mabel from The Diviners series because she is tHE MOST ANNOYING and I cannot with her.
13. Most shocking book/moment.
*Spoiler Alert for Crooked Kingdom*
MATTIAS
I couldn’t believe it. I’m still bitter.
14. Favorite couple/OTP.
Maria and Jay from Hold Me. My forever faves.
15. The best written book you read this year.
Oh dang. These questions are tough… I’m going with Far From the Tree by Robin Benway. I felt like the book was exquisitely crafted and I really appreciated how unique each characters voice was in the POVs, as well as how she managed to create such a wide cast of side characters without them feeling repetitive or flat. It absolutely deserved the National Book Award (which is not to say that others did not, just, this one was great).
16. Book that you pushed the most people to read in 2017.
Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai is a book that I literally have not shut up about since I read it. I don’t know if I’ve convinced anyone to pick it up, but it’s the one I’ve tried the hardest to get people to read, I think.
17. Favorite book cover of the year.
Ooh, I have a couple choices for this one. Bad Romance by Heather DeMetrios is stunning, but also I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maureen Goo has the prettiest spine ever. They also both contain really incredible stories.
18. What book made you cry the most?
I cried reading Hate to Want You too many times. It was just SO GOOD.
19. What book made you laugh the most?
Ooh, I am unsure… Maybe Beauty and the Mustache? Penny Reid’s sense of humor in that book just really got me. But also, I know I laughed quite a few times listening to Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick. She’s honestly just so funny and self-deprecating in a way that’s relatable and not depressing.
20. A new favorite author you discovered this year.
I’m interpreting this as not a debut author, but regardless I think my answers would be the same. I have so many answers for this honestly, so I’m just going to list them in chronological order. Sarina Bowen, Alisha Rai, Julia Quinn, Lisa Kleypas, Kelly Bowen, Becky Albertalli, Alyssa Cole, and Kit Rocha. So mostly romance authors who are the easiest to binge read, I feel, which results in them easily sky-rocketing to favorites and must buys.
21. Favorite book you re-read this year.
Omg, did I even re-read anything besides A Wrinkle in Time? THIS IS NOT A QUESTION I SHOULD HAVE TO ASK. I did not. This is why one of my goals is to re-read more books.
22. Were you happy with your reading year?
Yes. I thought it was really great, actually. I read a ton of amazing books and really got to delve into romance more fully.
23. What will you do different in 2018?
I have got to re-read more in 2018. I’m also trying to read the books that I own and get my TBR back down to a somewhat reasonable amount. Please.
And there you have some answers to some very fun questions. 2017 is basically over and I’m honestly just so amazed we survived. So, here’s to 2018 and surviving another year!
xx
firewhiskeyreader 