2025 Reading Challenge discussion

2017 was a great year for reading! Let's take a look back.

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?

2. Which books were your favorite?

3. Which books were your least favorite?

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?

I'll start. This is one of my favorite threads of the year because I love to see how you all did!

I will probably finish the year with about 27 books which was half of my goal. This year was not the best year for reading for me because I had so much going on.

My favorite book that I read this year was most defiantly The Count of Monte Cristo. It was so thrilling and I loved all the characters...even the evil ones because they were so well written.

My least favorite book was The Shining. I hated this book and the characters. I just wanted to strangle them all.

I discovered the "In Death" series this year and look forward to reading more of it.

My biggest surprise this year was Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I downloaded this book on audio (I always listen to celebrity books on audio if I can because I love to hear them read their own stories), but it wasn't Trevor Noah's story. You see him in his suit on TV, and you just don't think of him as someone who was a hoodlum that went through hell, but sure enough, he's what we tell our kids to dream about when we tell them to dream of success. That even the worst circumstances can lead us to the best life has to offer.

I tried to participate in the challenges this year, but failed miserably. Since I lead and create many of them, I can't pick a favorite...it would be like picking my favorite child.

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?
This year I have read 51 books out of 35, and I hope to read at least 2 or 3 more. It was a good reading year!

2. Which books were your favorite?
Lilac Girls, A Man Called Ove, The Handmaid's Tale, A Gathering of Shadows, Northanger Abbey all got 5 stars.

3. Which books were your least favorite?
Let's see, I have not given any 1-star rating this year (yay!), but a couple of two stars books were:
Son, The Fellowship of the Ring, Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race, and White Teeth

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?
I am definitely late to the party, but I have discovered these amazing authors this year: V.E. Schwab, Margaret Atwood, Sarah J. Maas, Marissa Meyer.

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
My biggest surprise bookwise was definitely The Handmaid's Tale. The series is also one of the few book adaptations that I absolutely love!

Also becoming a mod in May this year was a big surprise, which I have been enjoying every day :)

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?
I participated in several challenges, my favorite being Genre Bingo

I'm at 59/55 I'm going to try to get to 65 or higher.

I can't remember all the books I read this year but I had a few favorites

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?
I'm currently at a grand total of 48 books. I reached my original goal of 12 books in March and raised it twice, ending with a final goal of 40 books. So yes, I most definitely met my goal and *fingers crossed* I hope to read at least one or two more.

2. Which books were your favorite?
It was a pretty good reading year. Amongst new favorites were: Flowers for Algernon, The Blue Girl, Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance and Paper Butterflies.

3. Which books were your least favorite?
Hands down The Forbidden Book. I loathed this book the first time I attempted to read it. This time around was no better.

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?
I did! Paul Pen does a great job of dark suspense with psychological elements. Ruth Emmie Lang and Megan Shepherd are definitely worth keeping on the radar for magical realism.

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
I'm not completely sure I had any unexpected surprises in 2017.

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?
"Favorite"? Singular? As in one? Okay.... Well, I participated in several challenges that I really enjoyed, but my favorite was probably Genre Bingo.

Kadijah Michelle wrote: "2017 was a great year for reading! Let's take a look back. ..."

It sure was!

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?
I'm reading my 39th and 40th book at this moment. I surpassed my goal of initially 12 books which I upped to 24. Yay!!

2. Which books were your favorite?
The Lunar Chronicles series for sure. This series will always have a special place in my heart, because these books were the ones that rekindled my love, my passion for reading.

3. Which books were your least favorite?
Illusies: Over bevrijding uit de doolhof van destructieve emoties

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?
Have only read one book by Neil Gaiman (Norse Mythology) but definitely interested in reading more of his books.
And of course Marissa Meyer.

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
How addictive GR can be once you join a great group. I think I lost some hours of sleep checking out all notifications before going to sleep lol

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?
Yes! Participated in Let's turn pages, Listopia, Serial Reader and Clear the Shelves. I think the last one was/is my favourite cause it helps me bring down that (everlasting) TBR list!

2017 was a great year for reading! Let's take a look back.

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?
I have read 70 books this year. My goal was 60, so yes I did meet my goal!

2. Which books were your favorite?
The Handmaid's Tale, Dark Matter, Shutter Island , The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery.
I also reread the A Song of Ice and Fire series and immensely enjoyed that even though they were not new to me.

3. Which books were your least favorite?
The Gunslinger, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Neuromancer

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?
Yes, I read 3 books by Jeff VanderMeer. I also love Margaret Atwood, although I only read the 1 by her.

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
The Handmaid's Tale and Murder on the Orient Express (which I just read today) were both a surprise. I did not think I'd enjoy either of them as much as I did.

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?
Yes! I did the yearly Color Challenge, A to Z, and Popsugar. I also did at least one quarterly (the triathlon) and I think I did a few monthly ones.
Popsugar is probably my favorite because it makes me search for what I'm going to read and that's half the fun!

reply | flag *

SarahKat wrote: "2017 was a great year for reading! Let's take a look back.

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?
I have read 70 books this year. My goal was 60, so yes I did m..."

Surpassed your goal ánd read a lot of awesome books I see. A great year for reading indeed! I hope 2018 will be as great!

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?

I've read 54 so far this year and plan a few more before year-end. My original goal was 12.

2. Which books were your favorite?

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Code Name Verity, The Baker's Secret All were audiobooks with great narrators that made the story come alive.

3. Which books were your least favorite?

The biggest disappointment was A Column of Fire. I loved the first in the series and liked the second one. This one dragged for me. I did not finish it and actually returned it, which I very rarely do.

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?

Not really but see below.

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)

Not really a surprise, but the big game-changer for me was discovering Overdrive in September. Prior to that my husband and I shared an Audible account so I would get a few per year and other random print library books. In addition to Overdrive, I discovered Goodreads Challenges in September. Now I'm going crazy with challenges and expanding my book choices tremendously.

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?

I started in other groups mid-September but I just discovered this group recently. I am doing a few in this group starting Jan 1.

Kat wrote: "1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?

I've read 54 so far this year and plan a few more before year-end. My original goal was 12.

2. Which books were your fav..."

Wow, you really surpassed your goal Kat!
Looking forward to seeing what 2018 will bring you!

Susy wrote: "Wow, you really surpassed your goal Kat!
Looking forward to seeing what 2018 will bring you!"

Yes, I have gone a little crazy :-) Thanks!

I'm so ready to see the backside of 2017 - it's been an incredibly stressful year. Thank God for good books, and Goodreads where we can celebrate them!!!

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?
So far, I've read 109 and my goal is 110. Definitely making that. I'm thinking I'll probably go a bit above my goal, but not by much.

2. Which books were your favorite?
I don't rate many books five stars, so here are the ones from this year:
- The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson
- Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
- True Grit by Charles Portis
- Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney
- All American Boys by Jason Reynolds

3. Which books were your least favorite?
Yikes! Ok, here goes:
- Defending Jacob by William Landay
- The Regional Office Is Under Attack! by Manuel Gonzales
- The Defense by Steve Cavanagh

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?
Yes, Kathleen Rooney and Helen Simonson!

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
Realistic teen fiction is hitting mainstream

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?
Yes, quite a lot of them! I really liked the Color Challenge

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?
So far I have read 58 of my 65 book goal. I have 7 more to read (unless I alter my goal again) before the end of the month to complete my goal.

2. Which books were your favourite?
I had lots of 5 star books this year. I'll name some of them here. If you want to see all of them go to my profile page and look on my read shelf to get the complete listing.
Courage for the Unknown Season: Navigating What's Next with Confidence and Hope
Fail Brilliantly: Exploding the Myths of Failure and Success
Mum on the Run
Enjoy!: The Gift of Sexual Pleasure for Women
Henry and the Hidden Treasure
Heart Beats
Rules of Summer
Everything, Everything
Disclosure

3. Which books were your least favourite?
This list is smaller but there were some really bad ones amongst them.
Natural Testosterone Boosters For Men: How to Boost Testosterone Naturally And Feel Amazing
Pimp in the Pulpit
Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny
Mr. Either/Or
Eyrie
The Woman Behind the Waterfall
The Garage? Just Torch It.


4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?
Fiona Gibson and Michael Crichton. Michael Crichton's writing had me being so totally absorbed in the story that I often forgot where I was. I really felt like I had been transported into the story itself and was watching the whole thing play out in front of me! I love writers who can do that.

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
That this year I found myself reading way more non-fiction than I have done in previous years. Perhaps this is because I'm generally finding fiction to be a huge disappointment

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favourite?
Yes I did participate in way too many. I think my overall favourite was the Pop Sugar one which I'm doing again next year.

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?
At present I am at 203 books my goal was 150 and hope to finish the year out strong and finish some more books.

2. Which books were your favorite?
I read so many books that there was a few that I really enjoyed.
I am a true Stephen King fan so most of the books of his I read this year were 4 to 5 stars. I also read a few paranormal books that I rated high stars.

3. Which books were your least favorite?
Classics are not my cup of tea. I am not sure if it is the way of the wording or I just find them really dry reads.
4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?
Many new authors and a sub-genre of horror called quiet horror and erotic horror. When I think of scary books for some reason erotic does not come to mind as fitting in with that genre.

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
the biggest surprise to me was the number of books that I have read. I know I read alot but was really surprised that it came out to that many and I still have time to read more.

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?
I sure did it motivates me to read more and pushes me out of my comfort zone and read more diversely. I liked the Genre bingo, the color, location just to name a few.

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?
20 books (so far). Yes, I met my goal for the first time ever! And I'll probably read another book or two before the year is over - winter break is only a week away!

2. Which books were your favorite?
My Grandmother Told me to Tell You She's Sorry, Underground Railroad

3. Which books were your least favorite?
Let the Great World Spin

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?
Not this year! Just enjoying the usual types

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
That I actually met my goal! I wasn't paying attention, I just kept reading and entering them into goodreads, and then I got the email that I did it!

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?
No, I'm very new here. I am looking forward to trying some out for 2018, though!

Laura wrote: "...6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?
No, I'm very new here. I am looking forward to trying some out for 2018, though! "

Cool, have fun Laura!

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal? I've read 101 and I'm currently reading another 4 so I think I will meet my goal of 104.

2. Which books were your favourite? Be Frank With Me was my absolute favourite but I also loved Kitchen, American Gods and A Man Called Ove.

3. Which books were your least favourite? White Teeth was not my cup of tea.

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love? Brandon Sanderson!

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
I fell in love with Frank in Be Frank With Me

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favourite? I did more in the first half of the year. Popsugar maybe? I am working on my last book for it now.

Lindsay wrote: "1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal? I've read 101 and I'm currently reading another 4 so I think I will meet my goal of 104.
..."

Good luck with your last mile Lindsay!

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal? Currently, I've read 89 books in 2017 and I'm hoping to finish 3 more. My goal was only 75 so I'm pleased I read so much more

2. Which books were your favorite? The Silo trilogy by Hugh Howey was fantastic. Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman was great especially as I didn't really read about Norse Mythology previously. I also got to reread Uprooted by Naomi Novik which is one of my all-time favourite books

3. Which books were your least favorite? Beastly by Alex Flinn, Solitaire by Alice Oseman. Also, The Tumor by John Grisham was definitely not as described

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love? This year I tried Bernard Cornwell for the first time. I really enjoyed his Warlord Chronicles about King Arthur because they felt so realistic. I will definitely be reading more by him

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!) I quite like reading mysteries and often can work out whodunnit. This year, I read a couple of books, including The Vanishing Box by Elly Griffiths, which had twists I did not see coming at all.

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite? I took part in several group challenges. I really liked Serial Reader and the Colour Challenge.

So far I have read 64 this year and I plan to finish at least two more that I am currently reading. Yep, all completed. I have read 14 over my goal.

It's hard to say which were my favorites. To be honest, I can't really remember which ones I read this year. LOL. I did love and do remember Brandon Sanderson's second book of his Stormlight Archive series so I guess that one is my favorite.

Too many >_<. I read quite a few that were very disappointing. To name just one would be unfair to the others.

New author, yes!! Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series is going to be my reading goal for 2018! I really loved the first book as well as the characters (except all his females feel like the same person to me....hotheaded, bossy, and always gets the last say.....that bugs me a little bit.)

Hhhmmm, nothing. I didn't really have any surprises this year that I can recall.


No, I was bad this year. The only challenge I participated in was the personal reading goal.

New to the group, but here are my answers.

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal? I think I’ve read 75 books this year. Although a good many were children’s books. I did meet my goal of 52 books. I hope to get a few more read.

2. Which books were your favorite? I had a few favorites. Two that stand out are Wintergirls and A Boy Called Christmas. T. Greenwood

3. Which books were your least favorite? Me & Death: An Afterlife Adventure was terrible. Just a copycat story badly edited.

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love? Yes, T. Greenwood. Her writing is so captivating.

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
I was surprised by Wintergirls. I didn’t expect it to capture my attention and hold on to it.

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite? Not in this group, but I did a few in another group.

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?

This year I have read 159 books so far and my goal was of 150.

2. Which books were your favorite?

I read all novels by Michael Connelly this year and he was my favorite author .

3. Which books were your least favorite?

Romance genre.

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?

Yes.I found many authors such as Michael Connelly ,Georges Simenon,novels featuring Perry Mason,Greg Iles .

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!

THE LITIGATORS BY JOHN GRISHAM is biggest surprise for me.
Humor in novel by Grisham was a big surprise .

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?

Yearly challenge is my favorite.Because novels by Michael Connelly are of average 400 pages but that by Agatha Christie are of 300 and featuring Perry Mason are of 160-170 .So yearly goal is quite easy to achieve with enjoyment.

Jaywant wrote: "This year I have read 159 books so far and my goal was of 150... So yearly goal is quite easy to achieve with enjoyment. "

Congratulations on reaching and surpassing your goal Jaywant! I'm glad it was quite easy for you to achieve with enjoyment. I must say, I can't imagine how I would read 150 books in one year lol, so to me it's impressive! :)

Margaret wrote: "6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?

No, I would love to try one this year. "

Nice to have you on board for some of the challenges Margaret! Which ones are you planning on joining?

Keri wrote: "....No, I was bad this year. The only challenge I participated in was the personal reading goal. "

But you did reach and even amply surpass your goal Keri!! So that's cool right?

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?
I read 68 books this far. Maybe I'll get to 70 by the end of the year. My goal vas 20

2. Which books were your favorite?
Mistborn, The cockoo's calling, A tale of two citys, Fire in the prery.

3. Which books were your least favorite?
The handmaid's tale...

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?
Yes! I read some YA this year, and autors like Sanderson, V. E. Scwab, Robert Jordan...does Robert Galbrath count??😄

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
I never tought I could read 68 books in one year. My ussual was 10-12.

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?
Yes. Yearly & monthly. They were wery fun.

Cat wrote: "5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
I never tought I could read 68 books in one year. My ussual was 10-12.
..."

Cool, congratulations Cat! How did you manage that? (looking for tips how to read more books in one year myself lol)

Susy wrote: "Cat wrote: "5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
I never tought I could read 68 books in one year. My ussual was 10-12.
..."

Cool, congratulations Cat! How did you m..."

I cut down TV and internet hours. 😅 I allso listened to audiobooks (5 books). I didn't do much studdying or work this second falf of the year...so it's not all that glorious. Reading books that I actually liked helpt a lot.

Cat wrote: "I cut down TV and internet hours. 😅 I allso listened to audiobooks (5 books). I didn't do much studdying or work this second falf of the year...so it's not all that glorious. Reading books that I actually liked helpt a lot."

Yes, I'm cutting down tv hours too. Should cut down work to, at least to more normal working hours.... But still... There are so many other things I want to pick up (again) as well: photography, dancing, etc. Too much to do, too little time lol

Catherine wrote: "6. I didn't even discover this group until late October or early November so I've been gearing up to get ready for the challenges in the new year. "

Well better late than never right? Looking forward to seeing what books you will be picking up and how you liked them!

1. I read 49 which surpassed my goal of 40. A majority of these books were for research or course work so I hope to read more for fun next year.

2. Hex by Thomas Olde Heuveltwas hands down my favorite book of the year. It was an amazingly creepy ride. The interplay between the traditional supernatural being and modern technology was really cool to see.

3. Fables of Abundance: A Cultural History of Advertising in America was a major disappointment. The writing was wildly inaccessible and the structure of the book itself made no sense. It seemed like a bunch of journal articles haphazardly thrown together with little interest in showing an overarching argument.

4. There were two new authors I fell in love with this year, Paul Collins and Judith Flanders. Both authors write amazing history books. They both include extremely amusing anecdotes in their books which helps lighten the mood of their books.

5. Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders was beyond amazing. I'm usually not a huge fan of travel books but this one sucked me in. It was both hilarious and fascinating.

6. No but I look forward to taking part in a few next year!

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?
I haven't been reading a huge amount so I set a modest goal, part way through the year, of 8 books. I've read 49 so far, and I'm ridiculously pleased about this! More than anything I'm pleased that life has settled down enough to give me the time to do so!

2. Which books were your favorite?
I really enjoyed Perfect Wives in Ideal Homes: The Story of Women in the 1950s and Fashion on the Ration: Style in the Second World War. I've had both for ages and they were as interesting as I'd hoped they would be.

3. Which books were your least favorite?
I enjoy crime mysteries and was recommended Death at Victoria Dock but it wasn't for me. I didn't finish it, and have got quite comfortable with the idea of abandoning books that don't live up to my expectations.

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?
I found Philip Pullman and read His Dark Materials. I'm going to work my way through the rest of the series. Not a new author of course as the world and his wife have read this already - the version I read was the 20th anniversary edition!

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
Goodreads actually - I've been a member for years but have become active on the site only very recently. What lovely people! I had used it before simply as a catalogue for my books but I'm looking forward to some interesting discussions in the future.

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?
I've only just found out about these. I'm hesitant to join any that dictate particular books or themes, since I already have so many books that I own and want to read. But I'm mooching about, looking for a suitable challenge at the moment.

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?
So far, I've read 108. My goal was 52, so I have far surpassed what I expected!

2. Which books were your favorite?
The Nix
The Goldfinch
The Queen of the Night
A Gentleman in Moscow
Love and Other Consolation Prizes

3. Which books were your least favorite?
The Chosen One: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Identity Crisis: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?
I enjoyed The Nix so much that I will likely read anything Nathan Hill writes in the future!
Also discovered, unexpectedly, that I don’t mind a bit of magical realism. For example, I gave 5 stars to:
The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
I didn’t expect to like A Gentleman in Moscow, but loved it! My review explains the reasons: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?

The monthly mini-challenges were my favorite. I participated in almost all of them since joining the group in mid-year. Also enjoyed the monthly word searches. I will be participating in lots of the annual challenges in 2018 now that I’ll be a member for a full year.

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal? I'm currently at 89 books this year and hoping to finish one or two more in the next few days. My goal was 75 so I surpassed it a bit.

2. Which books were your favorite? I really enjoyed Wizard and Glass and look forward to continuing the seiries in 2018. Also Heartless and A Man Called Ove. I read my first Agatha Christie- And Then There Were None and definitely need to read more of her. But my favorite was probably The Night Circus. I just found it so beautifully written.

3. Which books were your least favorite?- I read so many good books this year. I really didn't read many I didn't like. I should have known I wouldn't enjoy Grey but needed an audiobook I didn't need to focus on at work. Otherwise, I enjoyed all the others.

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?- I tried out Magical Realism and found it interesting this year. Not sure it is my favorite genre but it had it's merits. I also was surprised I had never read Agatha Christie before and have now remedied that.

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)- I was surprised by the number of large classics I was able to chew through this year.

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite? I participated in a ton of Yearly and a couple quarterly/monthly. I really enjoy the marathon/triathlon challenges. I love the Genre Bingo and the Serial Reader challenges. The Let's Turn Pages is also a great one.

2017 was a great year for reading! Let's take a look back.

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?
I read 45 books this year i at to read comic books and shorter books to finish my goal

2. Which books were your favorite?
ME ME ME
Grey
Green Light
Last Breath

3. Which books were your least favorite?
The Coffee Girl
The Aunt Sally Team

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?
Mark Edwards

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
To complete the harry potter books

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?
Tbr Randomiser challenge
Lets Turning pages challenge
I like the tbr randomiser challenge

2017 was probably my best recent year of reading, I'm looking forward to 2018 :)

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?
77/100 books, including 17 re-reads. Part of the motivation for joining goodreads is to do better in 2018...

2. Which books were your favorite?
Best new novels were The Book of Strange New Things and Station Eleven, with a nod also to Kolymsky Heights. Best non fiction were probably Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation.

3. Which books were your least favorite?
Too Like the Lightning, did not get on with this at all and DNF'd it. The Mandibles: A Family, 2029–2047 had a great start completely squandered by a terrible last act.

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?
The first two books (The End is Nigh, The End is Now) in the apocalypse triptych were generally fun. I liked the idea of three books of linked short stories.

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
Nuclear War Survival Skills was a bit of a grim read, but I was surprised by how survivable even large, close nuclear blasts are with some preparation.

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?
I have read 117/140 which i'm super happy with.

2. Which books were your favorite?
Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames - Its a must read for any fantasy lover and A man called Ove, that book is incredibly special.

3. Which books were your least favorite?
The Gunslinger and Christine by Stephen King

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?
Megan Jacobson cemented herself as a superb Australian contemporary author and she is now an auto buy author.

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
How badly I did at some of the challenges, but I don't mind its all a bit of fun.


6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?
I participated in way to many to mention, but my faves were the marathon challenges and Listopia challenge.

Kadijah Michelle wrote: "2017 was a great year for reading! Let's take a look back.

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?

I met my goal of 12 in 2017 fairly easily, Managing to steal a few moments here and there between school and work. I’m a little less optimistic about my 2018 goal, but I’ll give it my best.

2. Which books were your favorite?

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
The Sellout by Paul Beatty
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

3. Which books were your ..."

Finding Jake by Bryan Reardon
House of Incest by Anais Nin

4. I would like to read Hanya Yanagihara other novel: The People in the Trees. I would also like to read more from Paul Beatty.

5. The biggest surprise was that I was able to complete the challenge without making the excuse of not having enough time. I found that if I am truly enjoying something, I can make the time.

6. This is my second year participating in the reading challenge and my first time joining a group. I am looking forward to participating in more challenges as well as the opportunity to discuss interesting reads.

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?
I read 81 books. My goal was to read 90, so I did not meet my goal this year.

2. Which books were your favorite?
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things: A Novel
House of Leaves
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
Daughter Of Earth And Water: A Biography Of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
The Glass Castle

3. Which books were your least favorite?
Doreen
The Turn of the Screw

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?
I really enjoyed reading Agatha Christie. I will read more by her. Same for Neil Gaiman. Since I loved House of Leaves I might check out more ergodic literature.

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
I read quite a few books this year have received a lot of praise that I found disappointing. So that's more of a negative surprise, but I enjoyed my reading overall.

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?
Yearly: I participated in the Color Challenge, Let's Turn the Pages, the Alphabet Challenge, Popsugar, and Modern Mrs. Darcy. I liked all of them for different reason. I'm participating in the first 4 challenges again in 2018.

Quarterly: I did the Clear the Shelves and the Triathlon quarterly challenges. I'm a fan of challenges that require me to bring down my TBR

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal? My goal was 52 but I ended up reading 78.

2. Which books were your favorite? Definitely The Handmaid's Tale, The Lunar Chronicles, Dark Matter, All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, It Ends with Us, and A Man Called Ove. Oh and I also read the first 3 Harry Potter books.

3. Which books were your least favorite? The Girls and In a Dark, Dark Wood I had high hopes for those two that didn't pan out.

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love? Colleen Hoover, Nicola Yoon and Fredrik Backman

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!) That I was capable of reading that many books. I think my highest before that was 48ish. Also the buddy reads were really fun to do. I'm addicted.

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite? I don't do the challenges in this group. I do the Around the Year Challenge and the Goodreads challenge for the winners. I participated in some of the group reads in this group and buddy reads.

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?

I did surpass my reading goal. I kept my goal the same for this year, however, I am planning on working on finishing up some projects that I have neglected this last year, so we shall see.

2. Which books were your favorite?

All of The Other series by Anne Bishop Written in Red

also

Down Among the Sticks and Bones

3. Which books were your least favorite?

Dragonflight
The Unlikely Ones
The Ghost Writer

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?

I read my first book by
Katherine Arden and Dean Koontz and plan to read more of their books this year.

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
From another reading challenge:
City of Stairs was on my TBR list, but wasn't likely to be picked up anytime soon. Very surprised
Radiance
Their sequels have also made it to my TBR pile

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?

The serial challenge. I have so many books on my list that series just fall by the wayside. This helps me focus on a few and see if I'm still interested enough to continue (if not delete from TBR list), or keep track of favorite ones still being written and finish series that are complete.

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal? i read 25 out of 25 tho 2 of the books were really short. (Thats without all the childrens book i always have to read hehe)

2. Which books were your favorite?
Without the two i re read my favorites was

3. Which books were your least favorite? I read some books that really disappointed me, but the ones i gave 1 star are and

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love? I really like the books i`ve read by Kerri Maniscalco and Taran Matharu

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!) That I didnt have enough energy this year to actually sit down and concentrate on a book :/ i had many reading slumps this year

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite? I participated in thr color challenge but i didnt finish it

I like these questions!

1. I finished 33 out of 40, so I came very close to my goal.

2. I’m glad the next question is SOME of the favorites, because it would be too hard to pick just one! A lot of the YA I finished were among my favorites, things like Cinder, The Sun Is Also a Star, and Between the Lines. My favorite memoir this year was Love Lives Here: Finding What You Need in a World Telling You What You Want.

3. I at least LIKED all the books I finished this year, but my least favorite was probably Love Warrior. I liked her first book a lot better, and this one was just not my cup of tea.

4. I loved the graphic novel Calling Dr. Laura. I had picked it up on a whim from the library mostly due to the cover (there's a chicken!), and I just gobbled up the story. I hadn't really read many graphic novels before, but this one has really piqued my interest.

5. The biggest surprise to me this year was how much fiction I ended up reading! I had been telling people that I had turned into more of a non-fiction person, but I guess that's not true. I'm happy about that fact, though, because I want to be well rounded.

6. I did a couple buddy reads, but that was the extent of my participation. I'm hoping to participate more in 2018!

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?
I read 55 books in 2017. I initially set a goal of 60 books but I saw a few weeks before the end of the year that I would be short of that goal so I changed it to 55.

2. Which books were your favorite?
Goodbye to Berlin
The Bostonians
The Ballroom
Madame Bovary
Black Oxen
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

3. Which books were your least favorite?
Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade
Ship of Fools


4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?
Yes, Gertrude Atherton. She's a writer from the turn of the 20th century who was a San Francisco native (I'm in love with the San Francisco Bay Area :-) ).

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
When I read Daughter Of Earth And Water: A Biography Of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. I was amazed at what a badass Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (author of Frankenstein, daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft) was in her time and I was also surprised that I actually ended up liking Percy B. Shelley, as I was expecting him to be one of these narcissistic, chauvinistic Victorian men but he wasn't (at least according to the book).

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?
No, sadly. I just didn't have time :-(.

Tam

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1. I read 55 books; 2017 was a really rough year for reading! My initial goal was 150, I thought shooting for five more than I read in 2016 would be a fair challenge to set for myself. 55 became my altered goal once I realized I was hesitating to read anything at all bc my goal seemed unattainable & I just wasn't enjoying my reading.

I definitely think I need to work on bypassing books I'm not enjoying & getting back into challenges/groups. This group, in particular - I've really missed how inspired I was back in '16 & how many books I found bc of participation in this group.

2. I lucked out on series reads this year. I enjoyed the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness; A Discovery of Witches & Shadow of Night were my favorites, it was nice to have a resolution in The Book of Life but there were parts that felt off for me.

J.D. Robb's In Death series had two solid additions, Echoes in Death & Secrets in Death, both sated my need for a Dallas & Roarke fix. Roberts also came out with Year One and I can't wait to read the next book! It seems to be a pretty perfect blend of her romance novels & the futuristic sci-fi vibes of the In Death series.

I also fell hard for Sarah J. Maas this year. I loved the arc in her ACOTAR series & was surprised at how much my opinion of the series changed after starting on the second book. The ToG series ended up being a favorite as well but I might never forgive her for creating a whole new level of cliffhanger-frustration between Empire of Storms & Tower of Dawn. >.<

Oh, and I can't forget Brimstone and Marmalade by Aaron Corwin! Definitely my favorite short story read of the year.

Oh-squared... The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter was my favorite collection and most of the stories included became fast lifetime favorites.

3. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald was one of my least favorite books of 2017. It does have a quirky premise but I couldn't get into it. I was also disappointed by The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. I think I went into it expecting something a bit different and it didn't end up working for me. I'm not sure if it was the book itself or just my brain/mood going wonky whilst reading it because it seems well-loved by many.

I was very excited to finally read the Wrinkle in Time Quintet this year. I ended up feeling like I was breeching the reader's code by being underwhelmed by it. As I read the other books, I realized I just wasn't in the right frame of mind for it. I think that I would have desperately reached for each book in turn had I read A Wrinkle in Time when I was a kid, it would have been fascinating to me. So, I'd say it's actually the experience as a whole of reading the books rather than any of the books specifically being a least favorite.

4. I was very surprised by Sarah J. Maas; I thought I'd keep reading the ACOTAR books but I didn't have too much love for the series by the end of the first book. Once I read the second book, I couldn't recommend the series more. YA isn't a new genre to me but I think I'll be very likely to continue to read Maas in the future bc ACOTAR and ToG have been so enjoyable. I also think that Maas could/should make it onto any list of authors who've aided the revitalization of YA.

5. The biggest surprise of 2017...hmm. I finally read some Lovecraft in 2017. Yep, super late to the party here. He's one of those authors that have a seemingly permanent residence in my TBR. Fates collided, I got a few of his short stories on my kindle and also lucked out with a decent collection at the library. Don't get me wrong, I was enjoying his stories immensely... until two of the stories caused me to do some research. Realizing that such an intelligent author was a complete racist certainly counts as a surprise.

6. I think I signed up for a couple challenges at the very beginning of the year. I don't think I finished any of them. It was weird to go from being so active on here in '16 to hardly participating in 2017. It was also weird to see how big of an influence it had on my reading. Looking forward to starting fresh!

2017 was a good reading year for me. I only got back into reading in 2016 so I guess 2017 was my first full year of properly reading. So here goes with the questions.

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?
66 books out of 50. So yes, I did meet my goal.

2. Which books were your favorite?
The Nix by Nathan Hill
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut

3. Which books were your least favorite?
All for the Game trilogy by Nora Sakavic
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?
Nathan Hill (debut author)
Neil Gaiman
Tom Rob Smith
Robin Hobb

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
I enjoyed all of these books more than I thought I would.

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?
No. But I did participate in a few group reads. I think American Gods by Neil Gaiman was my favourite.

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?
I read 20 books, meeting my goal of 20. I started out pretty strong but was really scrambling towards the end because school just took over. My 20th book I started on the 31st of December actually, in the middle of the night, and finished the last couple of chapters on the 1st. I counted it though, since the aim had been to finish the challenge.

2. Which books were your favorite?


3. Which books were your least favorite?


4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?
Read a fair bit of sci-fi this past year, something I haven't really been reading before. Also solidified my interest in reading more of Orwell, when I read Orwell on Truth just a couple of weeks ago (he was already a favorite after Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm).

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
To continue with the discovering Sci-Fi theme, Seveneves by Neal Stephenson was probably the biggest surprise. And while it's almost 900 pages, I still finished it in only 5 days. I basically inhaled it. Started to read Reamde as well, but didn't have the time for it, so it's scheduled on the to-read list for this coming summer after school is finished and I have some time off.

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?
No, not directly. I did always read through them though, hoping to find inspiration (which I did, on occasion). Gon' participate more this year, hopefully.

Looking back at 2017

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal?
Yes! I met my 2017 goal of 24 books after some marathon reading during the last couple of months. Last year was the first time I took the reading challenge and I'm very happy that I did. The challenge really helped me to keep up my reading in spite of a busy work schedule. I'm definitely going to continue to take the challenge.

2. Which books were your favorite?


3. Which books were your least favorite?


4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?
Yes, I read several authors I hadn't read before. Apart from the authors of my 3 favorite books, I enjoyed reading Ayn Rand, Haruki Murakami and Jhumpa Lahiri

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
Falling behind on my goal and then running to catch up. :) I set a very modest goal, just two books per month, which I thought would be fairly easy. But it turns out, some books are harder to read than others, like Ulysses. It was a difficult read and took me quite a long time to finish. Plus my work schedule and other activities got in the way of my reading. :)

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?
No, I didn't participate in any of the challenges. I do want to try at least one this year. I've signed up for the 2018 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge so far.

1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal? I read 210 books, which is amazing as my goal of the start of 2017 was 40 books but rekindling my love for the library made me fly through books.

2. Which books were your favorite?
There is 5 books that have stuck with me in no particular order
Release
The Rest of Us Just Live Here
Lorali
Wonderstruck
Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine

3. Which books were your least favorite?
Before I Die just not for me

4. Did you find a new author or genre that you love?
I fell in love with Patrick Ness and Brian Selznick writing.
But I also realized how much I enjoy memoirs/nonfiction especially those within the medical field.

5. What was the biggest surprise for you? (Open to interpretation!)
How much going to the library did for my reading, not just relying on my kindle or my own bookshelf.

6. Did you participate in any of our Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly Challenges? Which was your favorite?
I did not but I want to find one for this year.

BlurryBug wrote: "1. How many books did you read? Did you (or will you) meet your 2017 goal? I read 210 books, which is amazing as my goal of the start of 2017 was 40 books but rekindling my love for the library mad..."

What kind of challenges are you the most comfortable with? I will link you the yearly ones have a look around.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...