2017: The Year of 75 Books

I'm obsessed with reading. It's true. I'd say I'm on the road to recovery, but I'd probably stop by the library first.

I've gotten a lot of questions recently about how I find the time to read. For me, it's about making time. Reading is my self-care. I shared many ideas on how to make time for yourself in this post over at the Knoxville Moms Blog.

My reading goal for 2017 was originally to simply read more than I did in 2016. I met that goal towards the end of the summer! Since I finished so early, I set what I considered a high number: 75.

I did it! I read 76 books by year's end, and finished what would've been the 77th on January 1, so instead it became book 1 of 2018.

Without further ado, here's the full list of what I read in 2017 (let's just ignore the stack of magazines I totally abandoned and am way behind on!)

2017 Books I’ve Read

1. Black Heels and Tractor Wheels, Res Drummond
2. Sweet Water, Christina Baker Kline
3. Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline
4. My Not-So-Perfect Life, Sophie Kinsella
5. The Assistants, Camille Perri
6. The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris, Jenny Colgan
7. gods in Alabama, Joshilyn Jackson
8. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming, Joshilyn Jackson 
9. Lucky Us, Amy Bloom
10. Backseat Saints, Joshilyn Jackson
11. Between, Georgia, Joshilyn Jackson
12. Magnolia Story, Chip and Joanna Gaines
13. All the Summer Girls, Meg Donahue 
14. The Life List,  Lori Nelson Spielman
15. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend, Katarina Bivald
16. Go Set a Watchman, Harper Lee
17. The Jane Austen Book Club, Karen Joy Fowler
18. This is your life, Harriet Chance!, Jonathan Evison 
19. Meet me at Cupcake Cafe, Jenny Colgan
20. The Guest Cottage, Nancy Thayer
21. The Bookshop on the corner, Jenny Colgan
22. The butterfly and the violin, Kristy Cambron 
23. Present over Perfect, Shauna Niequist
24. Disconnected, Jennifer Wiener
25. The Lost Heiress, Roseanna M. White
26. The Opposite of Everyone, Joshilyn Jackson
27. The Summer Before the War, Helen Simonson
28. Windfallen, JoJo Moyes
29. Someday, Someday, Maybe; Lauren Graham
30. Daisy Chain, Mary DeMuth
31. Sweetshop of Dreams, Jenny Colgan
32. A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty, Joshilyn Jackson
33. Saints for All Occasions, J. Courtney Sullivan
34. Blackbird House, Alice Hoffman
35. The Two-Family House, Lynda Cohen Loigman
36. Movie Star by Lizzie Pepper by Hilary Lifton
37. True colors, Kristin Hannah 
38. A Slow Burn, Mary DeMuth
39. Life in Defiance, Mary DeMuth
40. Home Front, Kristin Hannah 
41. Eleanor and Park, Rainbow Rowell
42. By the numbers, Jen Lancaster
43. Looking for Alaska, John Green
44. The Marble Collector, Cecelia Ahern
45. Perfect, Cecelia Ahern 
46. The Art of Neighboring, Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon
47. The Kitchen Goddesses, Barbara O’Neal
48. A piece of heaven, Barbara O'Neal
49. Lady Luck's Map of Vegas, Barbara O'Neal
50. Claude and Camille, Stephanie Cowell
51. Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery, Jenny Colgan
52. Today will be different, Maria Semple
53. Sloppy Firsts, Megan McCafferty
54. Close Enough to Touch, Colleen Oakley
55. How to Start a Fire, Lisa Lutz
56. To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Jenny Han
57. Of Mess and Moxie, Jen Hatmaker
58. The Spectacular Now, Tim Tharp 
59. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, Beth Hoffman
60. Three Story House, Courtney Miller Santo
61. Return to the Isle of the Lost, Melissa de la Cruz
62. I’ll see you in Paris, Michelle Gable
63. PS I still love you, Jenny Han
64. The Right Side, Spencer Quinn
65. The lake house, Kate Morton 
66. Out of the Spin Cycle, Jen Hatmaker
67. Radium Girls, Kate Moore
68. Always and Forever, Lara Jean; Jenny Han
69. Harriet Beamer takes the bus, Joyce Magnin
70. Fates and Furies, Lauren Groff
71. Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine, Gail Honeyman
72. The Almost Sisters, Joshilyn Jackson
73. Lyrebird, Cecelia Ahern
74. Christmas at the little beach street bakery, Jenny Colgan
75. The scent of hours, Barbara O’Neal 
76. Disney Lands: The Return, Ridley Pearson

Best of the Best

I have some definite favorites for this year, but too many to narrow it down to just one. So by category:

Nonfiction- Jen Hatmaker's Of Mess and Moxie made me laugh, and think, and realize I'm not alone in my struggles. Radium Girls came in a close second, because it was riveting, but also heart-wrenching. 

YA- Do I have to pick? I loved the Lara Jean series by Jenny Han, as she perfectly blended average teen struggles with grieving and trying to fit both of your cultures into your life. But Cecelia Ahern's finale to the Flawed series was utterly captivating, and I couldn't put it down. So- it's a tie.

Southern Lit- Joshilyn Jackson's The Almost Sisters stole my heart and mind. It was thoughtfully written, weaving racial tension and family history seamlessly together through quite possibly one of my favorite protagonists. All of Jackson's characters are so thoroughly developed they feel completely real, and I obviously want to be besties with all of them.

Fiction- I can't pick just one. I just can't. I will narrow it down to two authors, who's backlists I've been steadily working my way through. Jenny Colgan and Barbara O'Neal appear numerous times in my list for this year, as their works are enchanting and I can't get enough of them. I now want to visit all of Colorado, the UK, and Paris, where the majority of their respective novels are set. They paint such lovely worlds with their words, and I've loved spending time there.

Most of the books I read had something I loved about them; a character, setting, or even just a sentence that brought me joy. 

If you want to follow my reading journey in 2018, I regularly post about what I'm reading on Instagram (@PawPrintsintheSink). If I'm feeling brave, I tag the author in my #InsaReview, and Barbara O'Neal recently commented and that was a highlight of my year!

What were some of your favorite books of 2017? Do you have a reading goal for 2018?