lycomayflower reads what she's got in 2017--no, really (part 2)

Welcome to my 2017 reading thread! Click here to go to my intoduction post. The photo above is a shelf devoted to science fiction and fantasy by women.

This first post contains an on-going list of the books I've read this year, with the most recent reads at the top. Click on the book title to go to the book's post within the thread, where you will find a review. Numbers in parentheses are page counts for each book. Click here to visit my 2016 thread.

Completed Reads

Total Pages: 19,690

97.) Reincarnation Blues (374)
96.) I Work at a Public Library (152)
95.) Craving Flight (146)
94.) A Christmas Carol (131)
93.) Miracle and Other Christmas Stories (298)
92.) The Christmas Fling (303)
91.) The Rabbi's Cat (142)
90.) Reduced Shakespeare Company Pop-Up Shakespeare
89.) Orange Collection 1 (~200)

88.) The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street (297)
87.) John Ronald's Dragons
86.) El Deafo (242)
85.) The Witch Boy (224)
84.) The Life and Writings of C.S. Lewis (audio)
83.) All's Faire in Middle School (248)
82.) The Raven Boys (409)
81.) The Shadow of the Wind (487)
80.) The Sheep Who Hatched an Egg

79.) Madeline Finn and the Library Dog
78.) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (audio)
77.) This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage (306)
76.) Going into Town (168)
75.) Hyperion (481)
74.) Wallace the Brave (170)
73.) When a Wolf Is Hungry
72.) Daddy-Long-Legs (181)

71.) The Yearning Life (79)
70.) Silver Thaw (423)
69.) On Tyranny (126)
68.) Dear Fahrenheit 451 (244)
67.) Betsy-Tacy (113)
66.) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (audio)
65.) Antisocial (499)
64.) Red and Lulu
63.) The Origin of Others (111)
62.) Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree
61.) My Life with Bob (242)
60.) Charlotte's Web (audio)
59.) Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History (232)

58.) Hidden Machinery (301)
57.) The Night Gardener
56.) Tash Hearts Tolstoy (372)
55.) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (audio)
54.) Our Souls at Night (179)
53.) At the Edge of the Universe (485)
52.) Morningstar (186)
51.) Mongrels (audio)

50.) Habibi (665)
49.) Then Came Heaven (343)
48.) Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? (228)
47.) Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? (audio)
46.) Binti (90)
45.) The Maltese Falcon (217)
44.) Snow White
43.) The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virture (513)

42.) Roller Girl (240)
41.) Hyperbole and a Half (369)
40.) Girling Up (177)
39.) Harry Potter for Nerds (303)
38.) The Tales of Beedle the Bard (116)
37.) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (111)
36.) Pride and Prejudice (audio)
35.) Quidditch Through the Ages (107)
34.) How to Survive a Summer (338)

33.) The Nix (732)
32.) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (870)
31.) Witch, Please (audio)
30.) Playing for Her Heart (175)
29.) How to Bang a Billionaire (349)

28.) Harry, A History (audio)
27.) The Book That Made Me (220)
26.) The Norths Meet Murder (239)
25.) Beyond Heaving Bosoms (284)
24.) The Soldier's Scoundrel (308)
23.) O! Pioneers (170)

22.) A Bear Called Paddington (174)
21.) Natural Law (282)
20.) The Clancys of Queens (audio)
19.) Our Numbered Days (64)
18.) Holding the Cards (223)
17.) The Deep End (461)
16.) Childhood's End (224)

15.) Waiting for the Flood (78)
14.) The Crossover (237)
13.) The Fallen (254)
12.) The Expats (500)
11.) The Tolkien Family Album (90)
10.) Ancient Skies, Ancient Trees

9.) Christian History Issue #78: J.R.R. Tolkien (audio)
8.) Bandersnatch (audio)
7.) Letters from Skye (290)
6.) The 5 Love Languages (203)
5.) Rings, Swords, and Monsters (audio)
4.) Tolkien and the West (audio)
3.) A Gentleman in the Street (336)
2.) Nowhere Ranch (236)
1.) A Man Called Ove (337)

Introduction Post

Hello! My name is Laura, and this is the tenth year I've kept an LT thread tracking and reviewing my reading. I read pretty widely, but I'm most likely to read romance, memoir, mysteries, YA, sci-fi, fantasy, and literary fiction. I'm in my mid-thirties, worked as an editor until this past spring, am married to a fellow reader, and carry on living in the south (it's been the majority of my adult life now) despite constantly missing winter and wanting to move back north (I grew up in north-east Pennsylvania). When I'm not reading, I like to do photography, write, crochet, bowl, swim, and watch TV. This year I'm also trying to get back into blogging at https://wonderatsix.blogspot.com/. Please feel free to talk to me there or here on LT. I love a good bookish conversation!

This year I'm continuing with some goals from 2016, looking to read more books by diverse authors (especially by poc, trans, and lesbian authors), poetry, literary fiction from my shelves, and loooong books I've been avoiding "because I won't make my book count goal." I'm also hoping to limit my book buying, shooting for only 2-3 per month (very low for me), and thus also readying much more from my shelves.

My favorite books read in 2016 were:

For Real
Symptoms of Being Human
A Castle Full of Cats
Ancillary Justice
Nimona

Hope I am not jumping in too soon to wish you a happy new thread, Laura.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Laura!

Happy new thread!

Happy New Thread, Laura!

I loved Ancillary Justice and Nimona, too, and I'm happy to see Roller Girl as your latest read.

Happy new thread, Laura! Hope you're having a great start to your July!

Happy new thread, Laura!

>3 PaulCranswick:, >4 drneutron:, >5 scaifea:, >6 foggidawn:, >7 jnwelch:, >8 MickyFine:, >9 FAMeulstee: Thanks, everyone! Welcome!

Today at my blog, I talk recommendations for books I've read in the first half of 2017 plus a few reads I'm looking forward to getting to soon. Come on over, and feel free to leave comments at the blog!

I thought I posted here before. *shrug* Musta been dreaming!

>12 laytonwoman3rd: What did you think you posted?

43.) The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, Mackenzi Lee ****

YA historical fiction set in the early 18th century and following Henry, a bisexual* young man on his Grand Tour. Along with him are his biracial best friend and his sister, Felicity, who he is meant to be dropping off at her finishing school. Henry has issues with his father, and loves his best friend Percy, though he can't bring himself to tell Percy that. Adventures ensue, involving highway men, mysterious puzzle boxes, alchemy, and pirates. This was a fun story which I enjoyed a lot (despite feeling like it was maybe a tad longer than it needed to be). I loved loved loved the way it dealt with privilege and prejudice and especially the question of how to help others while still honoring their choices and agency. Some nice stuff about gender expectations with Felicity as well. If I had any real issues with the book, it was that the tone was very much "young adult novel written in 2017," and while it was written very well, I had a hard time reconciling that with the setting, somehow.

*Not really a concept that had arisen yet in the way we understand it today, but for ease of understanding here....

>13 lycomayflower: Nothing important, just something to note that you had a new thread, and to make it show up under "Your Posts". So I wouldn't lose you, y'know. 'Cause Mom is supposed to know where her kid is.

44.) Snow White: A Graphic Novel, Matt Phelan ****

This graphic novel retells the Snow White fairy tale in 1920s New York. The evil stepmother is a theater star, the seven dwarves are street kids. Very light on words, the story is carried almost entirely by the illustrations, which are striking and used to excellent effect. Recommended.

>15 laytonwoman3rd: I see. You don't just star things?

Serafina and the Black Cloak, Robert Beatty

DNF: This is less DNF and more a non-starter, I guess, as I quit after the first chapter. The writing was irritating me right from the first pages (clumsy dialogue, weird word repetition, language that seemed simpler than it should be), and then there was a development at the end of the first chapter that squicked me but good. So I'm out. A little bummed, because this series looked promising, but it isn't as if I don't have other books to keep me occupied. *cough*

>16 lycomayflower: I really loved that one. One of my five star reads this year.

>17 lycomayflower: No...I rely on "Your Posts". Of course then if I only lurk, I lose people. I do have some threads starred, but I don't look at that view all the time.

You sent me to Google!

>18 lycomayflower: I read it, but I felt the same way you did. I was surprised to see that the series is moderately popular, but I guess the things that bothered us don't bother its intended audience so much.

>19 MickyFine: Wasn't it great? Hang on, I think maybe it was on my list because of you? I have *got* to start making a note of where my book bullets come from.

>20 laytonwoman3rd: Your system confounds me, Mims.

>21 FlamingRabbit: Was it "squick"?

>22 foggidawn: I'm glad it wasn't just me. It seems to have a ton of really positive reviews.

>23 lycomayflower: Your system confounds me ...
I know, right? For the longest time I assumed everyone "did" LT the way I do, only to discover there are many different "systems". I was confounded by >15 laytonwoman3rd: because I never use "Your posts". Never, ever. To each their own though, eh?

Whereas I use "Your Posts" almost exclusively, and star things very rarely.

>18 lycomayflower: >22 foggidawn: Yup, me, too. I read the thing, but was pretty disappointed, because it did seem so promising.

>25 foggidawn: You and me, foggi---you and me.

>23 lycomayflower: I occasionally used to make notes about sources of my BBs but since I've taken to keeping The List in Goodreads I haven't done so. I'm happy to take credit for you reading this one, though. :)

>23 lycomayflower: Yep

45.) The Maltese Falcon, Dashiell Hammett **1/2

There's something slightly compelling about the style in which this hardboiled detective story is written--it's very filmic, largely just showing the reader the action without commenting on it or getting into characters' heads. But the slight interest I had in the style did not make up for the rest of the thing, which was homophobic, misogynistic, and kind of boring. I was never interested in any of the characters, the plot never really takes off (there's little detecting, little following clues or figuring things out on the page), and the end makes me crazy. Meh.

***For Book Club

>30 lycomayflower: I won't rush to pick that one up then. I will say that I found The Thin Man a super enjoyable read. And the films with William Powell and Myrna Loy are amongst some of my favourite old movies to watch.

46.) Binti, Nnedi Okorafor ***1/2

Sci-fi novella about a young Himba woman who defies her family to leave home and study at the best university in the galaxy. And then things happen en route and the story turns into something else, something about prejudice and imperialism and colonialism and diplomacy and agency. I really really like what Okorafor did here thematically, I liked what the novella was *about*, but I was not at all taken with it as a story. It felt somewhat flat and without narrative drive. I did spend a good deal of time reading about the Himba peoples and various Eurpean awfullnesses in Namibia, and that was fascinating, important history I otherwise might not have come across. So I'm happy to have read the book because it prompted me to do that. I have a number of Okorafor's other books on my TBR, and I'm hoping I'll enjoy those more fully.

>31 MickyFine: I've seen the first Thin Man movie, and I quite enjoyed it, too! I have to remember to watch the rest. There's just nothing fun about The Maltese Falcon. I guess that's the difference.

47.) Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?: And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House, Alyssa Mastromonaco, read by the author ***1/2

Former Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations in Obama's adminstration Mastromonaco's memoir about working in the White House. Or rather, that's what I thought it would be. It's really more about being a professional working woman and what she's learned about how to do that well, with a fair amount of stories about working in the White House as examples of those lessons. I don't know if it was that the book wasn't what I was expecting or that I found Mastromonaco's narration of the book a bit dull and monotone and hard to engage with, but I found this book pretty meh. Some of the specific stories were really interesting, but on the whole I just wasn't that invested. I wanted more "behind the scenes at the White House" and less general advice-y stuff about being a professional woman. I also had a really hard time following her organization (she mentions that she organized around kinds of advice rather than chronologically, so my problems with this probably stemmed directly from my dissatisfaction with the focus of the book). Disappointing for me, but if you *want* what Mastromonaco delivered, probably a pretty great read.

48.) Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, Roz Chast ****

Chast's graphic memoir focuses on the declining years and death of her parents. Her stories about dealing with the intensification of her parents' personalities as they aged into their nineties, the years that she tried to care for them from a distance while they stayed in their apartment of forty years, and watching them adjust to and then die in a nursing home is by turns very funny and quite heartbreaking. Not an easy read, but one that anyone who has dealt with the death of an elderly loved one or who will be soon should find some something worthwhile in Chast's experiences. Recommended.

49.) Then Came Heaven, LaVyrle Spencer ****

I guess I'd call this a literary romance, in that it is primarily a love story (and one with a happy ending that you're never really in any doubt is going to come about), but the novel gets its story on the page and moves more like literary fiction than it does like a romance novel. The story opens with the sudden tragic death of Krystyna Olczak, a young wife and mother, and moves from there to follow her husband Eddie, her daughters, and her daughters' teacher, a nun in the local Catholic school, as they deal with the aftermath of her death. Spencer does an excellent job putting on the page the small 1950s Minnesota town where the story is set, and her exploration of Sister Regina's doubt about her vocation is handled very well. At times, the book is more character study and consideration of setting than it is anything else, and that is definitely part of what made it such a good read for me. I felt like I was reading about all my older relatives--almost recognizing people I knew as they might have been thirty years before I was born. My only disappointment was that the last tiny bit of the book (the last fifteen pages maybe?) felt a little less carefully put together. Once Eddie and Jean (Sister Regina) had navigated all their obstacles and were finally together, it felt a little, I dunno, almost creepy? Like Spencer put so much effort into exploring all their feelings and concerns and doubts along the way and then at the very end it was all just: and now here we are and everything is fine. Heh? But the journey up to that point was so satisfying that it almost didn't matter. Mostly recommended.

50.) Habibi, Craig Thompson **1/2

Wrrr. This graphic novel. Wrrr. The art is *amazing.* The structure and the intertwining of motifs and themes is by turns fascinating and compelling. The story is only so-so. And then there's the "urg" feeling I had the whole time I was reading. The story is set in an unnamed Middle Eastern country sometime in the near-ish future. Here's my first two "urg" feelings: Craig Thompson is not, to the best of my ability to discover, of any sort of Middle Eastern descent nor is he culturally adjacent in any way (like, say, having married someone of Middle Eastern descent). A white person writing a book about the Middle East is not an automatic "urg," but it does make me pay real close attention and start looking for an answer to the question, "Why *this* story, why by *you*?" I didn't feel like I ever got that answer. And the nonspecificity of the setting made me go "Hrrm" as well. Americans aren't historically so great at understanding Middle Eastern countries, cultures, and peoples with nuance and specificity, so the vague setting feels like maybe not enough effort. Then there's the dramatic sexualization of the female lead, who is shown naked *a lot* and who is raped *a lot* and who we *see* getting raped *a lot.* I didn't feel like this nudity and sexual violence was helping me confront anything or learn anything (except maybe demonstrating that whole "arousal does not equal desire" thing, but I never felt like Thompson was going for that, so.). There's a sultan who is one hundred percent governed by his lusts. Flrn. He's got a harem, and guess how many of the women in it are full-fledged characters rather than naked women we see the sultan ****ing in all kinds of positions? Dingdingding. Zero. And then there are the characters of African descent. They are decidedly simian in appearance. They are *treated* (some of them anyway) as fully-rounded characters; their depiction in the story is not racist as far I saw, but their *images* were. Whhyyyyyy? Aside from the eye-popping "wow" of the art itself, the positive thing that stood out to me about this graphic novel was the depiction of stories from both Christian and Islamic religious tradition that were woven into the larger narrative. These were magnificently illustrated, and the explanation of the differences between the same stories from the two different traditions were fascinating. It made me wish Thompson had teamed up with some religious scholars and done a nonfic comparative graphic work about Christianity and Islam. Alas.

51.) Mongrels, Stephen Graham Jones, read by Chris Patton and Jonathan Yen ****

A coming of age story of sorts about a boy growing up with his aunt and uncle and learning about his heritage as a werewolf. The writing is excellent. The audiobook was performed beautifully. Jones strikes a perfect balance between letting his story be a *story* and recognizing that it is about a whole lot of things that have nothing to do with werewolves. Recommended.

***For Book Club

>37 lycomayflower: I had the same "urg" reaction to Habibi, Laura. I don't know what he was thinking in doing this one. It's too bad, because his Blankets is very good.

>37 lycomayflower: Whoa. Well, then. Yes. I think I'll give that one a hard pass, then.

>39 jnwelch: Am very glad to know it's not just me, especially as I loved Blankets as well.

>40 scaifea: Yeeeah, I would.

52.) Morningstar: Growing Up with Books, Ann Hood ****

Hood's memoir through books is organized around "lessons" she learned from various books she read in her childhood or young adulthood. A pleasant, entertaining, sometimes insightful little read. If you enjoy books about books and reading, not a bad addition to that genre.

More blog-y goodness: I wrap some of my most mistreated words up in blankets and scritch them behind the ears. Come on by and leave some support for the poor dears in the comments.

53.) At the Edge of the Universe, Shaun David Hutchinson ***1/2

The premise of this YA novel is that narrator Ozzie's long-time best friend and current boyfriend, Tommy, has disappeared from the world. There's no trace of him and no one else remembers that he existed. In between juggling school work and a succession of therapists, Ozzie tries to find Tommy. Oh, and the universe is shrinking.

As Ozzie puzzles and agonizes over Tommy's disappearance and how the universe could possibly be getting smaller without anyone but him noticing (or remembering the things that are disappearing as it shrinks), we get some good exploration of issues among teenagers, including love and what it means, sex and what it means, gender and what it means, plans for the future and what figuring out who you are means. Some nice representation of gay teens and gender fluid teens here, as well.

I don't remember quite at what point I started thinking that the whole smaller universe thing was only a metaphor (fairly early, but I was kind of hoping for an actual plotty mcplotplot, so I held out a little longer than I might have otherwise), but certainly by the halfway point I was sort of scowling at the book and muttering to myself about how Hutchinson was going to pull off the fact that much of the premise of the book isn't actually happening. I was prepared to be seriously annoyed (the words "if he's even dreaming, I swear...") may have been uttered a few times). By the end I was much happier than I expected to be (the whole shrinking of the universe/Tommy disappeared thing is really about the depression and withdrawal Ozzie felt after Tommy broke up with him, and the way Hutchinson brings that forth is pretty satisfying), but I don't think the metaphor works within the story as a whole. We never get an answer as to what was actually going on with Ozzie. He suggests he was in a parallel universe created by his grief (and, I mean, I get it, it's a startlingly good description of what grief, especially grief laced with depression (or vice versa) can feel like), but there's still this pesky question of there having been a story on the page, with events in it, events which pretty much cannot have happened given that the universe wasn't actually shrinking and that Tommy wasn't actually disappeared and that none of Ozzie's friends and family thought he was. I think it's just too long (nearly 500 pages) and too involved a book to accept that the guiding premise was a metaphor without some explanation for what was really up. I dunno. Maybe I'm being obtuse. Maybe teens will react differently to it, maybe they will be enough struck by the revelation about the way feelings are so. very. real. while you're feeling them that the "hang on, what?" bit won't bother them. *shrug* A decent book with a lot going for it, but didn't hang together for me in the end.

>44 lycomayflower: Hmmm, that description reminds me a bit of A World Without You, which I read last year and thought was really well executed (in contrast with this one based on your comments in the spoiler tag).

>45 MickyFine: I may check that out then. I think I would rather like something like it that was well executed. And I keep hearing good things about Beth Revis.

>46 lycomayflower: Thank you! Hope yours was nice as well.

54.) Our Souls at Night, Kent Haruf ****

When I heard that Netflix is making a movie of this, I decided it was time to read it. (I've been meaning to for awhile.) So I went to the bookstore, bought it, and read the whole thing in essentially one sitting. The writing is superb. The characters are deftly and seemingly effortlessly drawn. I was deeply in love with the book until the end, which I *hate*. It feels abrupt and slightly out of sync with the rest of the book (this is forgivable given that Haruf was dying when he wrote it), but the events of the end also make me unpleased. *grump* Recommended though, because such amazing writing, such lovely characters who are so real so quickly.

>49 m.belljackson:

Loved the writing in Our Souls, but the son's condemnation felt like something out of Dickens.

>50 lycomayflower: I felt like his character wasn't nearly well enough developed for us to understand where he was coming from in the end. And therefore it just felt like an anvil dropped into the story.

DNF: Before the Fall, Noah Hawley

Mlerg. A small private plane goes down in the Atlantic, killing everyone on board except Scott, a small-time painter who had been offered a lift by one of the wealthy owners of the plane, and JJ, the young son of one of the wealthy owners of the plane. Scott swims to shore with JJ on his back and is hailed as a hero. Then we get the story of the people trying to figure out what happened to the plane and of each of the people on the plane, told through flashbacks. *shrug* I like Scott a lot and was invested in his story, especially how he felt connected to JJ after their ordeal. But much of the book is not about him (I quit about halfway through), and I can't stand any of the other characters. And I don't feel terribly compelled to find out what happened to the plane either. My suspicion is that one of the nasty, greedy humans circling around the event made it crash for some nasty, greedy reason. Nothing I've read in the first half of the book makes me think there's anything more interesting than that going on. Put that along with characters I'm not interested in and writing that's certainly fine but not a reason in and of itself to read the thing, and I'm out.

>52 jnwelch: Good for you, Laura. I haven't read it, but I'm all in favor the DNF when it's not working for you.

>53 lycomayflower: I'm in favor of it too, but somehow I seem to have trouble actually *doing* it a lot of the time. So... *pats self on back* :-)

Trying my hand at a new motivator for finishing books and reading things I have/reducing the number of books I buy. Above is a "book bingo" card I've made for myself, comprised of a few books I've been halfway through forever, a handful of new books I really want to read but never seem to pick up, and a few things I'm trying to get through on some kind of schedule (book club reads, books I want to pass on to someone else, books whose sequels are coming out soon, etc). The idea is that I reward myself for getting "bingos," thus encouraging me not to quit reading things for no reason and (hopefully) controlling a bit the new books coming in. I have a few additional rules set up governing BOTM credits, sequel buying, and so on, but the gist of the rules is this:

--A four corner bingo = $40 B&N gift card for myself that I can use whenever on whatever (the four corners is thus deliberately "hard")
--Completing any one row of five books = I can buy one new hardback (or one paperback)
--Completing any three books = I can buy one new paperback, but those three books are no longer eligible for completing five-book rows or four corners. The middle spot (traditionally the free spot) is exempt from this ineligibility.

Right. Now it's a game. Let's see how I do. *rubs hands together*

Oh, that's a great idea!

>55 drneutron:

What great fun!

Is there any way to enlarge the photo so all titles are legible?

My cat would surely enjoy choosing the first book, as the one she lies upon.

>55 drneutron: Sounds fun! Good luck!

>56 m.belljackson: Thanks! Hope it works.

>57 MickyFine: Only by hitting Ctrl+ to make the whole screen bigger (or pinching it bigger on a touch screen), but the clarity is poo that way.

So:

The Name of the Wind
Dog On It
The Long Haul
Garden Spells
Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History
The Yearning Life
A Gentleman in Moscow
Mr Rochester
The Cloister Walk
Tash Hearts Tolstoy
The Metropolis Case
Akata Witch
Talking About Jane Austen in Baghdad
The Wangs vs. the World
The Lawrence Browne Affair
Bewildering Cares
Jane Austen, The Secret Radical
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Secret Country
A Study in Scarlet Women
The Hidden Machinery
The House at Riverton
A Darker Shade of Magic
Gaudy Night
The Heart's Invisible Furies

LOL. Cats. Mine likes to knock over piles of books.

>58 lycomayflower: Thanks!

In thinking about the bingo card (>55 drneutron:), it occurred to me that I ought to have room for reads that aren't on the card. I mean, I have tons more books that fall into all those categories represented on the card. So I've made up a second card with categories instead of specific titles. I'll work on both cards at once. Same rules, but any one book can only satisfy one square and only on one card. *nods*

>60 MickyFine: Look at you go.

Also yay for A Darker Shade of Magic.

I love the bingo game. I am eager to see how it works for you.

Oooh, I've had The Name of the Wind on my Read Soon shelves for ages. Need to get to it...um...soon.

Hooray for book bingo! I'm going to try it for my reading goals next year.

>61 lauralkeet: I feel like it's possible I'm straying into "overthinking it" territory, but I'm excited about the bingo cards, so thhsbt to overthinking it, I say!

>62 scaifea: Me too! Fingers crossed it's a method that sticks. If it is, I think it'll be fun.

>63 foggidawn: Husbeast keeps telling me it's some of the best fantasy and one of the best books he's ever read. I'm excited to read it, but the length always seems to make me pass for something a little more manageable.

>64 lycomayflower: Whoohoo! Cool!

DNF:

Well Played, Katrina Ramos Atienza

Well, ding dang, this is disappointing. I came across this modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in a university in the Phillipines on amazon and it had a handful of good reviews. And the premise made me all "yes please gimme hands." But I cannot get into it. There are so many character introduced so quickly, and they don't have enough distinguishing characteristics to make any of them stand out from the others. Big scenes with all the characters were making my eyes glaze. And the writing (or possibly the editing) is sloppy. Nuts.

>66 MickyFine: If you want a a fun P&P retelling, I really enjoyed Heartstone, which is P&P with dragons. Sounds crazy, but actually super fun. And if you're the one who hit me with that one to begin with, apologies. ;)

>67 lycomayflower: Oh! I have that on my TBR somewhere. I think maybe you've recc'd it to me before. *shuffles it up the pile*

Okay, someone stop the DNF train. I want to get off.

*sigh*

DNF:

You'll Grow Out of It, Jessi Klein

A good many memoirs are completely effective without the reader needing to connect with or like the narrator. But for You'll Grow Out of It, I found myself struggling with the book precisely because I felt so alienated from the narrator. The book's back material talks a lot about Klein being a tomboy as a child, and the first essay or so discuss her confusion about what it was to be feminine and whether she wanted to be that/why it didn't feel "natural" to her to perform femininity. And I thought, "Cool, this is going to be a funny, relatable discussion of being a woman in 21st century America, and how we sometimes feel at odds with what that's supposed to mean even while still wanting to do it 'right.'" And then it just kind of went off the rails for me. The funny bits seemed way more dark or depressing or mean than funny. And as Klein moved on from discussing her childhood, a lot of statements (that I guess were supposed to be funny?) started creeping in that undermine the idea that we can pick and choose which bits of femininity feel right to each of us (or reject them all) and that's fine and good and right. At one point, while discussing buying really expensive makeup, she says, "This despite the fact that I. . . still have trouble buying socks that don't come in a bag because I just can't believe a singe pair costs more than six bucks" (p. 31). There's some implication in there that there's something wrong with buying socks that way, that the "feminine" thing (or adult thing?) to do is definitely not buying the kinds of socks that come six to a pack. And the thing is just peppered with these little "funny" moments that make it clear what behaviors are doing it wrong. She makes a similar comment at some point about the time when she was still wearing cotton underwear and not grooming her lady bits. Like becoming an adult women means, you, what, wear silk next to the skin and get waxed twice a month? I mean, come on. Femininity is a complicated subject, yes, and it means different things to different people and what some of us would never be caught dead doing is something others of us couldn't imagine leaving the house without having done. I thought that's what this book was going to be about. Maybe it gets there? But to the point I got (~87 pages in), I was done with the assumptions about the "right" ways to do things and the urg feeling the book was giving me. YMMV.

Sending hopeful thoughts for finishing your next book.

>69 FAMeulstee: Sorry you hit another dud. Crossing all crossables the next one is better.

>70 MickyFine:, >71 lycomayflower: Thanks!

At least my audiobooks are treating me decent!

55.) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling, read by Jim Dale ****

The Jim Dale performances of the HP audiobooks are such a strange combination of utterly delightful and perplexingly annoying. For the most part I adore being able to listen to these favorites, and Dale does an excellent job much of the time. However, sometimes (especially in the dialogue) his intonation is very odd, and not infrequently he puts the emphasis on the wrong word in the sentence (like the difference between "*I* didn't do that" and "I didn't do *that*"), which suggests to me that he doesn't fully understand what's going on in the story (which is distracting), and occasionally he pronounces a name wrong (for instance, "Filch" is usually "Filch," but sometimes "Filsh"; don't get me started on Vol-de-more rather than Vol-de-mort; I know that isn't necessarily wrong, but flrn). Despite all that, I did enjoy this very much and will likely move on to HP2 shortly.

*whispers* You need the Stephen Fry versions...

>74 lycomayflower: I would love to have the Fry versions! I've never been able to find them in this country?

I don't know how Tomm managed it, but he ordered them as they were released, somehow, and we have a full set. If I could figure out how to load them up onto a usb or two, I'd send them your way...

>76 lycomayflower: Clearly Tomm is magic!

56.) Tash Hearts Tolstoy, Kathryn Ormsbee ***1/2

Tash's web series, a retelling of Anna Karenina has gone viral. She has to deal with the ramifications of this peculiar kind of fame as well as figure out what her asexuality means for her, navigate friendships and changing family relationships, and decide what she's going to do about college. I kept losing interest in this YA novel, despite thinking it was pretty good and not being able to put my finger on anything that was making me lose interest. I read the last ~100 pages in one sitting and enjoyed that more than any of the rest of the novel, so maybe it was just that I never gave myself enough time in one go to get really stuck in. *shrug* Recommended if the premise sounds up your street, especially as the ace aspects were handled quite well, I thought.

57.) The Night Gardener, Terry Fan and Eric Fan ***1/2

Picture book about a gardener who turns the neighborhood trees into playful topiaries during the night. Somewhat disappointing story but excellent illustrations.

New blog post up! Recs for Pride and Prejudice retellings.

>80 jnwelch: That's a fun read, Laura. I really enjoyed Lost in Austen, too. I'm due for a re-watch.

>80 jnwelch: Excellent post. And it's reminded that I really do want to get around to Lost in Austen one of these days. Noticed the absence of Eligible from your list. Have you tried it yet?

ETA: Also for pure, ridiculous fun I do enjoy the film adaptation of Austenland so, so much. Worth it for the credit sequence of lip syncing alone.

58.) Hidden Machinery: Essays on Writing, Margot Livesey ****

Does what it says on the tin, really. Some of these essays on craft were excellent, some really missed the mark for me. The degree to which any single essay in this collection will work for any single reader has a lot to do with what that reader already knows about writing, what she still struggles with, and how she connects with the personal aspects of the individual essay in question. That's why some of them seemed wonderful to me and others tedious. Other readers may react precisely oppositely. Recommended.

>81 MickyFine: Thanks! I think it's time for a LiA rewatch for me as well!

>82 lycomayflower: Thanks! I have Eligible, but I haven't gotten to it yet. Austenland doesn't quite work as well for me as Lost in Austen (they're quite different, but I put them in the same category somehow?), but I did watch the movie a few months back and enjoyed the ridiculousness!

>84 MickyFine: I totally get putting LiA and Austenland in the same category. They've got a similar vibe.

Wishing you a wonderful long weekend!

>85 lycomayflower: Thanks! Hope *this* weekend is lovely for you!

59.) Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich ***1/2

Back in the seventies, Ulrich coined the phrase that serves as the book's title in a history article. As it became more and more widely used as a slogan, she decided to write a book about women in history centered around that idea. There's a lot of great info in here about various women, but I'm afraid much of it felt like just one thing after another to me. It didn't really all hang together. YMMV.

***For Book Club

>87 MickyFine: Have you read Rejected Princesses? Sounds like it might be a little similar but I can vouch for its awesomeness.

>87 MickyFine: Not sure that the title is quite true as I don't envisage her fitting Florence Nightingale and Mother Theresa too well into that particular theorem!

Have a lovely weekend, Laura.

>88 PaulCranswick: I have not. I'll have to check that out!

>89 lycomayflower: Thanks, Paul! Hope the week is treating you well.

60.) Charlotte's Web, E.B. White, read by the author ****1/2

What a treat to get to hear White read this! He does a simply amazing job. I think this is the first time I've read this since childhood, and there were a fair few bits I didn't remember. I was surprised at just how philosophical it was--not just about death and the life cycle but also about how best to live and what's valuable. It's a testament to how well White writes for children, I think, that this book didn't freak me out when I was a wee sprout. The reality Wilbur faces is stark, and it strikes me listening to this as an adult just how much White does not shy away from it. Recommended.

61.) My Life with Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues, Pamela Paul ***1/2

Pamela Paul has been keeping a journal of every book she's read since junior high. In this memoir she uses that journal as a jumping off point for talking about parts of her life she was reminded of by entries in the journal. *shrug* On the face of it, this should be right up my street. I love books about books, I like bookish memoirs, I also have kept a journal of books I've read since childhood. But it didn't grab me. I never warmed to Paul, there's not enough about the actual books to please me, and I was hoping for the book journal to play a bigger, geekier part in the whole thing, I guess. YMMV.

62.) Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree, Robert Barry *****

I heard about this children's book somewhere and ordered it sight unseen for the nieces for Christmas. Of course I had to read it (carefully!) to be sure it was up to snuff. I loved this rhyming story about how a rich gentleman gets the perfect tree but has to chop off the top bit to make it fit in his parlor. He gives the top to his maid, who has to chop of the top to make it fit in her attic room. She throws it out, and the gardener finds it and takes it home, where he has to chop off the top bit... et cetera through a succession of smaller and smaller recipients of the tree tops until the last bit ends up with the mouse family in the mouse hole in Mr. Willowby's parlor. Lovely! Great, fun illustrations, too.

63.) The Origin of Others, Toni Morrison ***

Wrrr. This is a series of essays developed from a series of lectures Morrison delivered at Harvard last year. *drums fingers* And Iiiii *glances around furtively* found it really underwhelming? I feel like I *have* to be missing something--I mean, it's *Toni Morrison*--but so many of the essays felt not cohesive. Most of them contained insightful statements about belonging in literature and/or interesting and enlightening and disturbing information about history, but I was left wondering what the conclusion was for most of them too. Possibly the lectures didn't translate well to essay form (I think most things designed to be spoken rather than read work better when they *are* spoken)? Possibly I didn't pay close enough attention? The book has been out for almost three weeks and it is very slim (people have had time, is what I'm saying), and there's almost no chatter about it--few reviews on LT, amazon, or Goodreads, and I don't find any professional reviews either. I'm perplexed.

64.) Red and Lulu, Matt Tavares ****

Another Christmas picture book destined for the nieces. Two cardinals live in a grand evergreen tree and delight in watching the world go by and the seasons change. One day Red flies off to find food to bring back to Lulu and discovers his tree on its side on a truck. When the truck drives away, he follows it. Eventually he loses sight of the truck, but after some searching, he finds his tree again, in Central Park, all pretty in lights. And there's Lulu right were he left her in the branches! They enjoy the Christmas season in their now-famous tree then move to another tree in the park when it's time for their tree to come down. Lovely illustrations and a pleasant enough story. (He almost killed me during the Red searching for Lulu part, jeez, but I think little kids will be invested in the "what happens" bit and not, you know, choking up over the poor cardinal losing his mate because the silly jumped up monkeys like to cut down and decorate trees at the winter solstice.) While the humans in the story are pretty much completely incidental, the humans pictured on the page are fairly diverse, so that's a nice plus in a kids book that is animal-centered. Recommended.

65.) Antisocial, Heidi Cullinan ****

Two college seniors who at first seem like they have little in common fall in love. Lots of manga, anime, and other Japanese culture involved, as both of them are into it. Nice representation and exploration of asexuality and gray sexuality and how someone who is gray and someone who is not might have a romantic relationship.

I loved all the pieces of this book to little bits--the characters, the references, the exploration of sexuality--but ultimately it was a little too long and/or a little too floppy. It isn't what I would call tightly plotted, and at some point with ~150 pages to go, I said, "What else is there that needs to happen for this many pages to be left?" And then more stuff did happen, and I enjoyed it as it played out, but still that sense of the thing not necessarily being a comprehensive whole. That being said, absolutely recommended if you are looking for a gray-ace romance.

66.) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling, read by Jim Dale ****

This audio book of HP2 is much like the Dale-read HP1: sometimes amazingly wonderful, sometimes annoyingly off-base. Dale does Lockhart to a T, however, and I did thoroughly enjoy getting to listen to the story while I went about my chores and driving all over creation.

67.) Betsy-Tacy, Maud Hart Lovelace ***1/2

The first of the Betsy-Tacy books, what I first heard about (like many of my generation, I'm guessing) when Kathleen Kelly recommended them to Joe Fox's aunt in You've Got Mail. A year or so ago I found a boxed set of the first four on the Friends of the Library shelf at the library for next to nothing, and I'm just now dipping in. This was too childish to be fully engaging to an adult first-time reader, but I definitely see the appeal as a chapter books for elementary school younguns. Will likely keep on through the rest of them, especially as I am interested to see how the children, and consequently the books, grow older with each installment. I think there are ten of these all together and by the end Betsy at least is married, so I suspect they may become more interesting to me as I go along.

*tiptoes in. siiiidles to the lightswitch. flips it quick* Ah HA! I see all you lurkers scurrying into the shadows. Come out and say hi!

I'm just behind the door, making sure the cat doesn't fall off.

>99 laytonwoman3rd: Hi!

>99 laytonwoman3rd: Haha, that gave me a good chuckle :)

I'm just catching up on a few threads after being mostly absent from everywhere but my own this summer. *waves*

>99 laytonwoman3rd: You caught me!

I knew it! *waves to y'all*

>100 drneutron: LT kitties are magic and cannot fall off doors.

>101 bell7: Hi, Jim!

>102 foggidawn: Happy to have made you laugh!

>103 lycomayflower: Mwuahahahaha!

68.) Dear Fahrenheit 451, Annie Spence ****

This fun little book by a librarian is comprised of letters to books (the first ~3/4) and lists of book recs (the last ~1/4). I enjoyed the letters more than the lists, but some of the lists were good too. Most of the letters are humorous, and while Spence occasionally used her humor to be just a little meaner than I really dig, for the most part, this was a lot of fun to read and made me laugh out loud quite a bit. A nice spin on the genre of personal books about books.

69.) On Tyranny, Timothy Snyder ***1/2

I mostly found this depressing and a retread of advice I've already heard and have been taking since November (such as: read and financially support print journalism; have a valid passport; disengage from the internet more often; read "slow" texts, that is things that take time to absorb like books and long-form journalism; seek out and listen to the experiences and opinions of people from other countries; be critical and wary of alarmist language from "leaders"; speak up; support charities; support the institutions you value). It's incredibly important stuff, but I also wish there had been more to it, more specific advice and more (any) references* to other works of history or political science to back up Snyder's facts and to direct one to further reading. After talking to LW3, who reacted much more favorably to the book than I did, I'm willing to concede that I'm probably asking the book to do things it wasn't intended to do. For many Snyder's book will probably work just as it is meant to and will be a welcome source of advice. For me, it woke up the rattlers in my stomach without making me feel like there was much I could do about it. YMMV.

*That is, citations. He does reference other works.

New blog post up! Podcast recs that are less bookishly inclined.

70.) Silver Thaw, Catherine Anderson ****

Quite possibly at a different time I would not have had any patience with this book at all. It's a little gender stereotype-y, and the hero is pretty much too good to be believed, and there isn't quite enough character development, and it sometimes stretches suspension of disbelief around details (a town so small that everyone knows everyone else's business has enough deputies that three of them are frequently off duty all at once?), and the details of the abusive husband sometimes felt a little convenient for the story, but apparently I was in receptive mood. Anderson pulls you along at a clip, and the whole thing felt cozy and escapist in precisely the right way for the last couple of days.

71.) The Yearning Life, Regina Walton ****

Poetry collections, man. For me they are always, like, eighty percent "Wha--?" and twenty percent "OMG that was the best thing I ever read." This one follows that pattern. I *loved* "Sleight," and while I don't think I fully got the antiphons section on this read, it intrigued me enough that I suspect I will be coming back to it again.

I've been a little *grump* this year about being behind (sometimes it seemed impossibly behind) last year in books read, but I just shot past last year's pace, so maybe there's hope yet for beating last year's number.
.
.
.

I *am* still way behind on page count, though. By 1,278. *drums fingers*

>106 lycomayflower: I definitely liked this more than you Laura. You might find a George Monbiot's Out of the Wreckage more to your taste. I've already got a list growing of books mentioned, I'm two-thirds through. And he posits solutions.

Monbiot is mostly known for his environmental work and his book Feral: rewilding the land, sea and human life is a fine read.

>111 lycomayflower: Oh, interesting. I will have to check that out. Thank you for the rec!

>106 lycomayflower: "I'm willing to concede that I'm probably asking the book to do things it wasn't intended to do" And, as we discussed, you're probably not among the audience of people it was intended for. It's a primer, and you're already in the advanced class, m'dear.

>111 lycomayflower: I'm making note of that one, too, Caroline. Thanks.

It's that list! Below is my list of my favorite books/the books that meant the most to me/the books that had the biggest impact on my life published in each year of my life. This is a work in progress; as I continue to read backlist and/or just discover other books I have already read from any given year that I like better than what's listed, I'll update the list.

This was such a fascinating exercise. For some years I basically had to pick *the* book I'd read from that year (of course there are limitations here around how I found books published in any given year). Other years I had to think really carefully and choose from among four or more books that all argued for a spot on the list. It's interesting to me, too, that most of my favorites from my childhood years are children's books. Apparently as an adult I haven't read adult books from that time that I liked better than the kids' books I'd already read. I ended up using Wikipedia's list of books published in given years plus Google and Goodreads lists to make a base list. Then I went through my LT collection of 5-Star Reads and checked those for ones that were better for their years than what was on the base list. Bob's your uncle! List.

My Favorite Books Published in Each Year of My Life:

1981—Early Autumn
1982—Howliday Inn
1983—A Solitary Blue
1984—Star Trek: The Vulcan Academy Murders
1985—Lonesome Dove
1986—A Murder for Her Majesty
1987—Calvin and Hobbes
1988—Matilda
1989—Number the Stars
1990—Jurassic Park
1991—Heir to the Empire
1992—Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture
1993—Trainspotting
1994—The Chamber
1995—The Courtship of Princess Leia
1996—The Sparrow
1997—Moab Is My Washpot
1998—About a Boy
1999—The Perks of Being a Wallflower
2000—J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century
2001—Atonement
2002—The Midwife: A Memoir of Joy, Birth, and Hard Times
2003—The Namesake
2004—Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell
2005—Twilight
2006—The Thirteenth Tale
2007—Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
2008—Melusine
2009—1Q84
2010—Annabel
2011—The Song of Achilles
2012—Mrs Queen Takes the Train
2013—Fangirl
2014—Yes Please
2015—For Real
2016—The Nix
2017—Dear Fahrenheit 451

>113 lycomayflower: It's a primer, and you're already in the advanced class, m'dear. Yeah, I *guess*. I always think I'm way behind/not doing nearly enough when it comes to this sort of thing. Course, I'm comparing myself to my friends, and I'm blessed with very smart, very active friends. So. Compared to, like, every American adult, I guess.

Nice list. I've only done mine up to 1990, but already we have two matches.

>116 lycomayflower: Early Autumn and... Lonesome Dove?

>117 laytonwoman3rd: Exactly.

Fabulous list, lady. Fry!! The Sparrow!! Song of Achilles!! Matilda!! Excellent choices.

>119 lycomayflower: Thank you!

72.) Daddy-Long-Legs, Jean Webster ****

I never read this as a kid, but I remember a friend carrying it around with her a lot. foggidawn reviewed it a little while ago, bringing it back to my attention, and it sounded like fun. I loved it and got very caught up in all the little details of women's college life in the 1910s. The identity of the "mysterious" Daddy-Long-Legs seemed very obvious to me, though I rather suspect I might not have thought so if I had read this when I was ~nine. While some of the story is a bit dated, very little terribly much bothered my modern sensibilities, especially as I think Jerusha would have been a fairly forward-thinking and "modern" woman in her time.

I have a film of the same title with Fred Astaire in it saved on my pvr but I'm not sure if they're related.

>123 laytonwoman3rd: It is "loosely based" on the book, according to Wikipedia.

Interested in listening to some podcasts but not sure how to fit them in? I can help!

73.) When a Wolf Is Hungry, Christine Naumann-Villemin, illustrated by Kris DiGiacomo ***1/2

Picture book about a wolf who goes to town to eat a rabbit. And then he ends up being friends with everyone in the rabbit's building, including the rabbit, and becoming a vegetarian. Nice illustrations, but kind of weird. Straddling the line between my kind of weird and not my kind of weird, I think.

74.) Wallace the Brave, Will Henry *****

A comic strip collection about 7ish- year-old Wallace, his family, and his friends. This is a tiny bit Peanuts and a good deal Calvin and Hobbes but all its own too. I loved every panel. The humor is exactly my sort of humor. I love the parents. They are Calvin's parents if they were a little less strict, a little more fun, and if Calvin engaged a little more fully with *their* humor. It's hard not to read them as a kind of response to Calvin's parents, but in a wonderful way. There's no friend only Wallace can see, but he does have a best friend--Spud. Spud has anxiety and he's never left out because of it. *loves* Spud and Wallace have a slightly antagonistic friendship with Amelia, a girl in their class, but there's never any reference to that antagonism springing from her being a girl. *loves* I suspect I will be reading this again and again.

*waits anxiously to see what book will be the magic number*

>128 lycomayflower: Lol. Me too. I'm in the middle of several right now, and I don't have any real sense of which one I'm going to end up finishing first.

75.) Hyperion, Dan Simmons ****

Distant future sci-fi where-in one of the many many world that is inhabited by humans contains a temple to a terrifying being called the Shrike, who is maybe possibly going to bring about the end of everything? Possibly maybe? The story follows the (last) pilgrimage to the Shrike's temple, and Canterbury Tales-like, each of the pilgrims tells their tale. Some of the tales told make up some of the best sci-fi I've read while some of them fell flat for me. I was compelled forward through the narrative by wanting to know just what the hecking frell was going on, but by the end of the book I was a little weary of the whole enterprise and ready to be done. That is partially just a function of my tendency to dislike stories told in this way (episodic fiction makes me twitch) and partially because Simmons's love of body horror wears me down pretty fast. I don't think the book, objectively, is too long. The end, in which the pilgrims head together toward their fate (whatever that may be) and in which we do not learn what the hecking frell was going on, left me pretty dissatisfied. I see why a lot of people love this book. I was intrigued and largely impressed, but ultimately I didn't love it. There are more in the series. I'm not sure I'll ever convince myself to read them.

>130 MickyFine: Is that magic 75? If so, congrats! Sorry it wasn't more of a hit though.

Congratulations on reaching 75, Laura!

Congrats!

>131 FAMeulstee:, >132 drneutron:, >133 lycomayflower:

Thank you, thank you!

*bows, does little flourish at the end, trips over the air, flips cape like nothing happened*

76.) Going into Town, Roz Chast ****

Subtitled "A Love Letter to New York," this graphic "not really a guide" to NYC is really a series of reasons to like the city and things to check out. Amusing and generally informative with a handful of indispensable pieces of practical info about things like the organization of Manhattan's street grid and how the numbers work and how the subway lines are organized--these straight-up practical bits can surely be found elsewhere, but they are an excellent addition to this entertaining little book and *very* well explained.

Two things:

1) Congrats on 75! WOOT!!

2) I can't help but notice that #76 demonstrably *isn't* by Stiefvater... *taps foot*

>136 lycomayflower: Thanks!

Lol! Rest assured, I am actively reading the Stiefvater. And I am *very* intrigued as to what is going on.

77.) This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage, Ann Patchett ****

A collection of personal essays from throughout Patchett's career, this book avoids being hit or miss, with every essay in it striking a chord with me. I did enjoy some of them more than others, of course, but the whole collection was wonderful. My favorites were "The Wall," about trying out for the LA police academy; "The Right to Read," an address to the Clemson freshman class of 2006 amid a brouhaha about one of Patchett's books; and "The Mercies," about Patchett's friendship with a nun. Recommended.

78.) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling, read by Jim Dale ****

The next in the HP series on audio read by Dale. He still annoys me, but I'm getting more used to him. (Just, why does Hermione always sound whiny? In my head, Hermione *never* whines.) He does an excellent job with action bits--Quidditch has never been more exciting than when Dale reads it. I'm looking forward to the World Cup bits in the next book. They should be awesome.

>139 foggidawn: YES! Dale does make Hermione sound whiny. And he does Dobby all wrong.

79.) Madeline Finn and the Library Dog, Lisa Papp ****

Picked up this book for the nieces but may have to put it aside for another year as I'm not sure either of them is old enough yet for this one to land. It's about a little girl having trouble learning to read who finds that hard work and finding an audience that doesn't mind if she makes a mistake lead to success. Lovely illustrations. Text a little ho hum. Nice message.

>140 lycomayflower: Glad it's not just me!

New blog post up today about being afraid to reread old favorites.

>143 MickyFine: Nice post. I totally have some books like that. Top of the list would be Troubling a Star which I borrowed from the library repeatedly as a kid and loved but have not re-read as either a teen or an adult.

I will say, Jane Eyre is still a fun (re)read as an adult if you ever do decide to brave it.

Interesting thoughts in rereading Laura. I’m a big rereader, there are 57 books I have read thrice or more, I have an LT collection, so I know.

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/Caroline_McElwee/thriceormore

I’d say chance it, I can’t think of one book I loved that has let me down. How I loved it might have evolved, sometimes deepened, sometimes something that was read when younger has shown its more complicated colours and I am in love again.

I’m about to reread The Great Gatsby for the 35th time. It won’t disappoint. I’m always seeing something new, or from another perspective, and then there are a handful of scenes that are as exquisite as ever.

The best rereads are like being wrapped in a warm blanket on an autumn night, off to collect Gatsby, which edition will it be this time (I think I only have three or four books in multiple editions)?

>144 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks for stopping by the blog! I feel that adult Jane Eyre reread coming on.

>155 lycomayflower: Thanks for reading the blog!
Thirty-five Gatsby reads?! I thought I was doing good with my A Christmas Carol rereads, which stand at ~20! (I'm guessing based on when I think I started rereading it every year.))

80.) The Sheep Who Hatched an Egg, Gemma Merino ****

Picture book for the nieces. Fun illustrations and light-hearted story about a sheep who learns about friendship.

81.) The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon ***

Whatever little spark it is in a book that makes one enjoy it, this book didn't have it for me. So many of the elements of it were good and should have appealed to me (good writing, mystery around a book and author, etc), but I just wasn't into it. Most of the members of my books club seemed to really really enjoy it. *shrug*

*** For Book Club.

>148 Caroline_McElwee: I agree with you for this one Laura, but I wondered if it was something to do with the translation.

>146 lycomayflower: I am promising myself to read A Christmas Carol this year. Don’t think I’ve read it since a kid.

>149 lycomayflower: I wondered about that too, it maybe being the translation. It just felt very flat.

Oooo, do, do! It is so wonderful!

82.) The Raven Boys, Maggie Stiefvater ****

It took me a little bit to get into the swing of this one (partly because I had to put it down for about a week to read for book club and partly, I think, because I sometimes missed the transition among various characters' points of view at the beginnings of chapters), but once I did, I really enjoyed it. Steifvater does the relationships between and among her characters so well, and I am intrigued by just what the heck is going on. If I had any quibbles, it would be maybe that all the various characters what live at Blue's house are not necessarily super distinct in my mind and that I thought the end was a tiny bit abrupt, but really I mostly am just looking forward to getting into the next one soon.

83.) All's Faire in Middle School, Victoria Jamieson ****1/2

Middle grade graphic novel about Imogene, a young girl whose family works the local renaissance faire and who is about to go to middle school after being homeschooled. Just like Roller Girl, this is a delight about growing up, friendship, and finding your way. The focus on a piece of culture that may be new to much of the audience (roller derby, ren faire) and the colorful art make Jamieson's books that much more special. Recommended.

84.) The Life and Writings of C.S. Lewis, Louis Markos ***1/2

I enjoyed this offering from The Great Courses series in part. The first half, where Markos discusses and explicates much of Lewis's Christian apologetics, was fascinating listening. Once he got into Lewis's fiction, however, I was much less interested. This is of course partly because I have no time for The Chronicles of Narnia, but I also started to get irritated with Markos, who seems so taken with Lewis that he never really critiques him and became a little preachy himself. I also wish he had better addressed some of the thorniest bits of tCoN a little more thoroughly (the racism, the misogyny) rather than kind of handwaving them away. Not a waste of time, but one too many "A modern feminist would tell you" followed by a reductive statement about feminism and the like for me to be fully on board. I just didn't trust that he was engaging fully enough or with enough nuance with any of the material.

>151 lycomayflower: Yay!! And yeah, they get better as they go along. I agree about the folks living in the house on Fox Way, but I kind of wonder if that problem is part of the point of that house...

>154 lycomayflower: Yeah, I wondered that about the house on Fox Way too. Like, maybe the non-differentiation is the idea.

85.) The Witch Boy, Molly Knox Ostertag ***1/2

I found this YA graphic novel a little disappointing. The art was good, and I liked the premise of the story: Aster, a teenaged boy, is part of an extended family in which all the men are shapeshifters who fight demons and all the women are witches with access to powerful magic. But the time for Aster's first transformation has passed and he shows no sign of ever shifting; whats more, he's fascinated by magic and shows some skill at it. Trouble is, no one will let him practice magic and everyone warns him that a man doing magic will lead to disaster. I am, like, *gimme hands* for this plot, but the execution left me wanting for more. The world building felt a bit incomplete, and in the end I wanted a little stronger sense of what the story was telling me. Generally speaking, it was pro-diversity and pro-being-yourself, and those things are excellent. I just didn't quite feel like the whole thing gelled. Absolutely worth the read though, and if the premise sounds like your bag, I'd give it a go. Also, very possibly, the audience it's aimed at might be less "but what does this fantasy story stand for in the real world?" about it and enjoy it just fine. :-p

I do think YA needs to simplify the complex issues a bit for its general audience....you may be bringing too much to it?

You know what YA won't leave you wanting for more? The rest of the Raven Boys books...

Just sayin'...

This is a time of year when I as a non-American ponder over what I am thankful for.

I am thankful for this group and its ability to keep me sane during topsy-turvy times.

I am thankful that you are part of this group.

I am thankful for this opportunity to say thank you.

>157 scaifea: Pshaw!

>158 PaulCranswick: It's in the rotation, it's in the rotation! ;-)

>159 lycomayflower: Aw, thanks! I'm grateful for you and everyone else around here too!

86.) El Deafo, Cece Bell ****

A graphic memoir about Bell's childhood growing up profoundly deaf after an illness effected her hearing. Interesting, informative, and, I imagine, a good book for discussing difference, disability, and/or acceptance with older kids.

>161 scaifea: Ooh, I love that one, and Charlie did, too. One of his best friends has hearing aids just like Bell's, with the round-the-neck speaker for the teacher and everything, so Charlie thought that was pretty cool.

>162 lycomayflower: Very cool!

>163 scaifea: >163 scaifea: Microphone. I meant microphone. Clearly. (What a dingaling.)

>164 laytonwoman3rd: Oh, see....now I've got "My dingaling" going round the brain pan.

>165 drneutron: *snerk* Uh, now I do too...

My wife and I are two more fans of El Deafo, Laura. That's a special graphic novel.

I'm about halfway through All's Faire in Middle School right now, and enjoying it. Roller Girl by her was a top one for me when I read it.

>165 drneutron:, >166 jnwelch: Now look here, all y'all, comin' in here, singing your dirty musics, bringin' down the tone a' the place.

>167 lycomayflower: Yep. I think I'll be reading everything Jamieson ever puts out, based on those two. Loved them both.

I'm doing a kind of advent calendar thingy over at the blog through Christmas, where each day I talk about something I'm grateful for and something that brings me joy.

Come check out the first post.

>170 MickyFine: That's a cool idea, Laura. I wish you much luck with all that writing this month. :)

>171 lycomayflower: Thanks, Micky! I'll admit to feeling a little "why did you commit to writing something every. day?" about this in some moments, but then I tell myself, "Two paragraphs. There's no day on which you can't write just two paragraphs!" We'll see.

Day Two of Gratitude and Joy includes a spur to volunteer more and a link to some music!

I’m enjoying your blog Laura. I too deeply love trees.

>174 lycomayflower: Thank you! Thanks for reading.

Day Three of Gratitude and Joy = neighborhood church and trees.

87.) John Ronald's Dragons, Caroline McAlister ****

A picture book comprising a deeply simplified biography of J.R.R. Tolkien from childhood through the thirties and the composition of The Hobbit. Lovely, lovely illustrations and a nice "quest for dragons" theme uniting the story of Tolkien's life. I may have to get a copy of this for the nieces in a few years, but I'm not passing on this one. It's lovely enough I'll hang on to it for my own collection.

88.) The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street, Karina Yan Glaser ****

The Vanderbeekers (interacial family; five children, one boy, four girls; ages five through twelve; including two twins) live in a brownstone in Harlem and love both the house and the community they are a part of in the their neighborhood. When their reclusive landlord, "The Beiderman," declines to renew their lease in the weeks before Christmas, the children decide to change his mind. Adventures ensue wherein the kids try to convince Mr. Beiderman to like them and thus renew the lease. I enjoyed the kids and especially the setting, though the middle dragged just a bit for me. The ending, where we find out what's up with "The Beiderman," is a bit of a gut punch. Appropriate for older kids, I think. It made me cry. Recommended, especially to fans of The Penderwicks.

>178 bell7: Oh that sounds good, I'll have to look for it at the library sometime soon.

>179 lycomayflower: Ooo, do. It was charming and pleasant without being in the slightest bit twee, which is hard to pull off and also one of my favorite things.

>178 bell7: Oh, glad you liked it! That's going to end up being one of my favorite books this year, I think -- I loved it when I read it a few months ago.

I had to read your whole thread to catch up, Laura. Belated congrats on reaching 75 are you aiming for 100? I saw The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue in a bookshop the other day. I didn't purchase because I wasn't too sure but your review is making me rethink.

>181 Familyhistorian: I think it has the makings of a children's classic.

>182 lycomayflower: Thanks! My real goal is to beat last year (94 books), but with 100 so close, yeah, I'm kinda sorta aiming at it.

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue was definitely a good read!

>185 Caroline_McElwee: I imagine there isn’t anyone on LT who does not get today’s piece on reading, Laura. I’m very lucky in that it isn’t uncommon for me to get at least three reading hours a day. When I’m working, half of that will be on my commute. I’m probably not alone in my favourite reading place being curled up snug in bed though.

>186 lycomayflower: I've always been fairly glad I don't have a long commute (or any at the moment), but such reading that I could get done! I do listen to audio books when I'm in the car, and while I definitely think that "counts" as reading the book, it doesn't seem to count, for me, as sustained reading in the way moving my eyes over words does when it comes to its restorative power.

Thanks for reading the blog!

Day Six of Gratitude and Joy considers a basic utility and offers up some more music!

>188 MickyFine: That's one of my favourite carols too! :) The Piano Guys version is one of my favourite renditions of it.

>189 lycomayflower: I came across The Piano Guys version today! It *is* great.

89.) Orange: The Complete Collection 1, Ichigo Takano ***1/2

A collection of individual manga issues telling the story of a girl who receives a letter from her future self telling her what to do to avoid a tragic future for one of her friends. I enjoyed this well enough. The premise was intriguing, and I got invested in a number of the characters. The themes about regrets and trusting yourself and friendship were all compelling. I'm not very familiar with manga, and I think I maybe missed some nuance because of that. I also found some of the story repetitive, but I think that's all down to reading all in one go a collection of installments that are meant to be more spaced out. I'm intrigued enough that I will probably read the concluding volume sometime pretty soon.

***For Book Club

>191 laytonwoman3rd: So what did your clubbers think of it? I get a little chuckle-y thinking about that group deciding to try some manga, to be honest.

>192 lycomayflower: Generally favorable, believe it or not. I don't think most of them are going to go out and read any more, but they seemed to enjoy being exposed to it and had things to say about the story. Though, the person I imagine you are most chuckling over was not there.

>193 laytonwoman3rd: Which makes me chuckle more yet!

Missed putting up the link to yesterday's gratitude and joy, so here you go: a little history and a little Scotland.

And here's today's, featuring fixing my wonky shoulders and schnee.

>195 MickyFine: I have the same feelings about the white stuff. :D Happy Friday!

>196 lycomayflower: Thanks!

And we got some of the white stuff today! Woot!

Reading along Laura. And I’ve downloaded that Scottish Christmas album to listen to later. I’ve a spadeful of Scots in me, along with the Irish. My dad was born in Clydebank and spent his first years there before my grandparents remigrated back to Northern Ireland. He still has a strong Scots/Irish accent at 90.

>199 lycomayflower: Oh, I hope you enjoy it!
I bet your dad has fascinating stories to tell about his life.

Day 10 of Gratitude and Joy sees an act of kindness and The Hallelujah Chorus.

Here's an interesting article about why having more books than you can possibly read is a good thing.

I like that Laura. I already have more books than I can read in the rest of my lifetime. I always said that that wasn’t the point, that having the book you want, when you wanted it was the point. Proven recently when I pulled a book off the shelf I now wanted to read, to discover it had been sitting there waiting for me for 32 years. Claire Tomalin’s The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft, and very good it is too.

>203 PaulCranswick: Wow! I don't have any waiting quite 33 years yet, Caroline. I think I have some waiting 22 years already though so I am possibly catching up.

Hope your weekend has been a good one, Laura.

>203 PaulCranswick: Yep! I love the idea that books are waiting for me when I want them.

>204 lycomayflower: Thanks! You too!

Since I didn't get over here with a link yesterday, Here is Day 12 of Gratitude and Joy, featuring heat and a favorite Christmas movie.

And here is today's, about a piece of tech I don't know how I ever lived without and a glimpse at my sense of humor.

Hahaha, I’ve not seen that Muppet clip before Laura, very funny.

And I loved the Scottish Christmas album, I played it tonight while I finished doing my Christmas cards (only the neighbours left to do now phew!).

>208 lycomayflower: Lol. The whole movie is a hoot.

So glad you enjoyed the album!

A brief pause in the gratitude and joy posts (today's will go up later this afternoon) for some Confessions of a Mood Reader.

And now today's Gratitude and Joy post, about my Grandparents and Christmas colors. (A heads up that this one might hit some of you more in the feels than usual, especially if you are a part of my immediate family.)

>210 lycomayflower: nodding a lot at this post Laura. I’m kind of in the wanting to read everything mood at the moment, and scattergunning. I am still pretty much reading 50/50 fiction and non-fiction this year, with a scattering of poetry. Ok, my math is shot there, but you know what I mean.

>212 lycomayflower: Pshaw, math. ;-) Thanks for reading the blog, Caroline!

Gratitude and Joy for day fifteen involves birthdays and one of the most beautiful lullabies I've ever heard.

>213 lycomayflower: I’m really enjoying your Advent blog Laura.

My brother hates having his birthday in December (1st), he wants it in June. It never got merged, but maybe because he worked in retail for years and it was manic and he could never take time off, he disliked it.

>215 lycomayflower: Thank you!

Oh, that would be unpleasant. I remember being pleased that we were often still off school on my birthday, and that as a nice plus.

90.) The Reduced Shakespeare Company Pop-Up Shakespeare, Jennie Maizels ****

Entertaining and informative pop-up book about Shakespeare and all of this plays. I could see this sparking a solid interest in Shakespeare for a ~nine year old kid. Lovely work on the illustrations and the pop-ups too.

Nice blog post today, Laura! And happy birthday, Linda!

>218 laytonwoman3rd: Thank you!

>217 MickyFine: Oooh...nifty.

>219 lycomayflower: Innit? Sarah sent it me as an early Christmas pressie.

>218 laytonwoman3rd: Thank you!

91.) The Rabbi's Cat, Joann Sfar ****

A graphic novel about a rabbi's cat, what eats a parrot and gains the power of speech. The rabbi and the cat go on some domestic adventures and argue about religion. This is excellent all around, and I'm convinced that Lying Cat is descended from the Rabbi's cat. Recommended.

I have been remiss with links to Gratitude and Joy here, but the posts have been going up!

Today's, Day 18
Day 17
Day 16

Today's Gratitude and Joy involves yarn craft and a favorite Christmas movie.

Gratitude and Joy today: the post office and my favorite holiday reread

92.) The Christmas Fling, Heidi Cullinan ***

Arg. As usual, Cullinan excels at individual scenes of high emotion and at portraying male friendship. She's also particularly good at what I think of as realistic aspirational world building: her characters tend to live in worlds that are just a little kinder and more accepting than our own, but those worlds are perfectly realistic, if only we could get our collective shite together. Her stories exist in the world her characters deserve rather than the one their real-world counterparts would probably encounter. I *love* that. But on the whole this story mostly didn't work for me.

After we briefly meet the main characters, it begins with a long sex scene which left me really uncomfortable, and not in a way that I thought was useful. Terry, one of the heroes allows the other, Evan, to persist in mistaking his identity throughout the encounter despite knowing that they will have to work together soon professionally. And their encounter goes to emotionally fraught places without any prior discussion of boundaries or how to communicate within the encounter. Given how deeply submissive one of the heroes got during the encounter, this nearly squicked me into skimming the scene. All this is foundational to the story Cullinan was telling, but I dunno. It didn't sit right.

Then there was the pacing. For the first half of the book I thought the story was going to be about the fallout from Terry not telling Evan who he really was and then Evan not realizing that Terry was the guy he had a one-night stand with at all. And I was into that plot, thinking it would be an interesting thing to explore, how you get trust back after that. But then that sort of got resolved and the story became about how Terry has trouble with emotional intimacy. Okaaay. That's fine, but what about a solid resolution for the first issue? Very near the end of the book, Terry freaked out and ran away from Evan (like, hundreds of miles away), and all sorts of little pieces of the plot really started to rub me the wrong way. After calming down from the immediate panic of seeing Terry have a minor breakdown and run away from him, Evan decides he won't contact Terry because he wants him to come back on his own. That makes sense, but also? You're in a steady, shacked-up-together relationship with someone for six months and you're cool with just not having any contact for four weeks while you wait to see if they're going to come back? Really? That feels weird to me. Meanwhile, Terry's friend Levi has a brother who is a therapist. Who is apparently willing not only to intervene while Terry is in crisis (this I buy) but to continue helping him through therapy after that, outside of a professional relationship. I call shenanigans on this. Where are his professional boundaries? He diagnoses Terry with anxiety, which I can accept from his behavior in the book, but anxiety is not, surely, based on what we've seen of him, what caused Terry to sabotage all his relationships, at least not solely. But we never really get to see Terry figure out and resolve the issue that has been sitting in the middle of his relationship with Evan: his fear of allowing another person get emotionally intimate with him. (He also becomes super self-aware and develops an emotionally healthy plan for moving forward in all of his relationships *really* fast after getting some therapy. Three weeks? Maybe four? That is some next level therapy he has going on there.)

Finally, I hated the climax of the book. Narratively, the story uses Terry's inability to say "I love you" as a symbol of the obstacles between him and Evan. (There's more to it than that, but that's the story kernel that stands for the all of it.) In the end, Terry puts together a grand gesture which involves him putting up in Christmas lights in town "I love you, Evan." Blerg. Not being able to admit to his feelings *in public* was not the crux of his issue. He can't say it in an intimate setting when he and his lover are sharing a vulnerable, emotional moment. How does this grand gesture demonstrate that he's over that? *frustrated face*

So. Great stuff around the story--setting, minor characters, the scenes of high emotion taken on their own--all fantastic. But the story didn't hold together for me. It felt maybe a little rushed, like all the pieces aren't slotted together right just yet. (The proofreading was also not stellar.) A disappointing addition to Cullinan's Christmas stories about Logan, Minnesota, though enjoyable in part.

Today in Gratitude and Joy I talk about Amazon and gift giving.

More music today at Gratitude and Joy!

>228 MickyFine: Getting so close to finishing your blogging challenge. Way to go, Laura!

>229 lycomayflower: Thanks, Micky!

Gratitude and Joy today is all about the singing.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and may 2018 be a good vintage for you Laura.

Thank you, Caroline! To you as well!

Gratitude and Joy today involves a good weatherman and my favorite version of A Christmas Carol.

(Or in other words, Happy Christmas, to you and yours!)

It is that time of year again, between Solstice and Christmas, just after Hanukkah, when our thoughts turn to wishing each other well in whatever language or image is meaningful to the recipient. So, whether I wish you Happy Solstice or Merry Christmas, know that what I really wish you, and for you, is this:

Wishing you all good things this holiday season and beyond.

>235 ronincats:, >236 PaulCranswick:, >237 lycomayflower: Thank you, all! Merry Christmas!

The final day of Gratitude and Joy!

The Christmas Bookish Haul! Which is almost, but not quite, the same as the "Christmas Haul." A few lovely non-bookish things appeared as well, but, well, everyone knows books are my catnip.

93.) Miracle and Other Christmas Stories, Connie Willis ***1/2

A collection of Christmas stories that all fall somewhere in the SF/F genre. The writing here is good, but only a couple of the stories really landed for me. I had the same problem with most of them that I have with most short stories: I get to the end and go, "Okay?" *shrug* The title story was really good, and I loved the introduction and the after material, which included recs for Christmas reading and watching. YMMV.

94.) A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens *****

Annual reread. Always a delight.

>239 lycomayflower: yay, you completed your advent blog Laura. I think you are right, friends and family are the point of life.

>240 lycomayflower: Nice Haul. I still haven’t read the Anthony Powell books.

Oh, nice book haul! Mine came in the form of a year subscription to Audible from Tomm, and I'm pretty excited about that. I suspect I'll get some books from my mom, too...

Oh, and I *have* to tell you about the dream I had last night:

You and your mom biked to my parents' house to deliver chickens to us so that we could donate them to our friends, who apparently lost all of theirs in some sort of unspecified yet tragic chicken farm disaster. I'm not sure how you two a) peddled all the way from your respective homes several states away from Indiana or, b) carried a chicken in one arm while doing so (you clearly didn't use cages in the dream), but the strange but grand gesture was very much appreciated.

Anyhoo, thought you'd like to know.

>243 scaifea: Thanks for reading!

It seems like those books have been on my mental TBR for ever. Now they're on my physical TBR maybe I'll get to them.

>244 scaifea: Thanks! Ooo, Audible. I love it.

>245 lycomayflower: Hahahaha! I love it! One-armed bicycle chicken delivery! The image is the best.

Happy Holidays, Laura!

I'm thinking about your mom's non-affinity for graphic novels. She liked Arrival, but that appears to be an exception. I wonder whether she'd like Blankets?

BTW, like you, I thought The Rabbi's Cat was really good.

>248 lycomayflower: Thanks!

Yeah, I don't know why Arrival struck her while most others have left her cold. Maybe because it had no words at all? *I* liked Blankets. Don't think I've tried to get her to read that one.

First time on here so I'm taking a shot in the dark. I am looking for a book. Romance. Its about a married couple who are very happy with their marriage. He shows her so much love. One day it just sort of fades away. She has a neighbor who moves in across her apartment and she they have a hot relationship. The rest is history. I thought I added this in my good reads but apparently I didn't. Thank you for your time.

95.) Craving Flight, Tamsen Parker ***1/2

Romance novella following a Jewish woman who has recently joined a Conservative community. She longs to fit in fully there, to marry, and to be able to fulfill her needs for BDSM within her marriage.

I loved the premise of this novella and the world building around presenting the characters' community. However, the story never really seemed to go anywhere--the conflict was all internal and the characters weren't developed enough to really sustain an solely internal conflict for ~150 pages.

96.) I Work at a Public Library, Gina Sheridan ***1/2

A collection of anecdotes about working in public libraries. Some of them were touching, most were amusing. I thought a handful of them were maybe a little cruel, but on the whole an entertaining couple of hours.

97.) Reincarnation Blues, Michael Poore ****

Milo is the oldest human soul--no other soul has taken as long to reach Perfection and join the Oversoul. Milo is also in love with Suzie, Death (one of them). The novel follows Milo and Suzie as Milo tries to achieve Perfection without losing Suzie. I absolutely loved the writing here and found many of the lives Milo lived fascinating and entertaining. There was, however, a good deal more violence (and the very creative kind of violence I find most disturbing) than I prefer, and by the end I was weary of that and otherwise also ready for the story to end. Guardedly recommended as YMMV on the violence and how quickly you are done with the premise, but on the whole a pretty good read.

>250 lycomayflower: No idea, sorry. You might try the Name that Book group. It's a place just for questions like this.

Round Up Poooost!

(If you don't want to read all this, page down to the "TL;DR" for a quick summary and a link to my 2018 thread.)

*Total Books Completed: 97 (last year: 94)
*Total Number of Pages Read (from complete reads): 19,690 (last year: 19,990)

*Top Five First-Time Reads of 2017:
All's Faire in Middle School
Wallace the Brave
The Nix
Holding the Cards
The Book That Made Me

*Worst First-Time Reads of 2017 (chosen from completed reads only):
Habibi
At the Edge of the Universe
My Life with Bob

*Longest Read of 2017:
The Nix(732)

*Books Purchased New: Too many
*of those, read: 12% (last year: 18%)

*Shelf Reads: 9 (last year: 16)
*Library Books: 10 (last year: 3)

*Average Number of Pages in Books Completed: 203 (last year: 213); minus audiobooks/books with no page count: 273 (last year: 270)

*Reads Broken Down By Category: (in parentheses = last year)

Print: 83
Audio: 14
Electronic: 0

Fiction: 65, 67% (72, 77%)
Nonfiction: 31, 32% (22, 23%)
Male Writers: 36 , 37% (37, 39%)
Female Writers: 66, 68% (58, 62%)
British Writers: 12, 12% (21, 21%)
US Writers: 77, 79% (70, 74%)
Writers =/= US, UK, Irish, Canadian: 5, 5% (3, 3%)
Authors of Color: 9, 9% (10, 11%)
LGBTQ Authors: 5, 5% (21, 22%)
In Translation: 4 (2)
Rereads: 11 (10)
Long (>500 pages): 6 (3)
Contemporary Literature: 8 (10)
Classics: 3 (3)
Poetry: 2 (3)
History/Biography: 2 (3)
Autobiography/Memoir: 4 (5)
Literary Criticism: 12 (8)
Young Adult: 13 (15)
Middle Grade: 10
Picture Books: 7
Romance: 14 (27)
Mystery/Thriller/Ghost: 3 (5)
Science Fiction: 6 (4)
Fantasy: 10 (7)
Graphic Novels (and comics): 12 (11)

*TL;DR
Well, I read slightly more this year by straight count of books (and slightly less by page count), but other than that, 2017 was kind of *flern* as a reading year. I didn't really read more of the things I meant to (diverse authors, poetry, literary fiction from my shelves, long books), and a lot of my numbers by genre have gone down too. As a whole, this reading year felt very unintentional, and that is the primary thing I will be looking to change in 2018. This year I did read some middle grade and picture books--and thoroughly enjoyed them--so that's something I'll be looking to keep going with in 2018. I'll be a little more specific about goals at the top of my 2018 thread, so come over and say hi.

That's it for 2017! (*whew*)

I'm here for 2018. That thread is very much still under construction, but it's available for starring and drop-in visits!