End of the Year Bookish Survey 2017

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Number Of Books You Read:

261

I actually read less than I had planned for this year. I knew I didn't want to read the amounts of last year (470 Books!) because I was still booked out at the beginning of the year. I thought I'd get to 300 but I ended up gaming more than reading many days. I got super addicted to Overwatch and Fortnite and played those a ton! I decided not to push my end of the year reading and just left my books where they ended.
In Numbers (because I get asked if I only read short stories/comics) :
11 books were over 500 pages
 104 books were 351 - 499 pages
 128 books were 200 - 350 pages
 17 books were 100 - 199 pages
1 book was under 99 pages
I did read 12 comics, which were not part of my book total

Number of Re-Reads:

32

Genre You Read The Most From:

Science Fiction / Fantasy

 Best in Books 2017

*** New to me Books only, no re-reads as answers ***
All Covers link back to GoodReads

1. Best Book You Read In 2017?
The first book I read in 2017 took top spot for the best book of 2017. I did seriously consider the first book in The Land series by Aleron Kong as I really love that series, but The Wise Man's Fear was just such a great book it had to take top spot. Like everyone else, now we wait for the next book in the series, whenever that will be. I'm glad that I read these books and I look forward to finding other fantasy like them.




2. Book You Were Excited About and Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
I'd definitely have to say The Operator for this one. I'd never read anything by Kim Harrison before I read the first book, "The Drafter", and I absolutely LOVED it. I thought it was a fresh look at time travel and I loved the book. I was really looking forward to this one as a followup and it SUCKED so bad. It was all about a drug that would affect something with the characters, and that was the premise of the whole book. I did not like it at all and I was so disappointed. I won't read more.



3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
I'm gonna go with Keys for this one. I picked this one up purely to fit a challenge and like most books that I read just for a challenge, I wasn't expecting much. I was quite surprised! I ended up loving this books. I liked the characters and the world was very interesting and unique. I'd definitely read more if a 2nd book ever came out. I thought it was such a good story.



4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
Probably either the Chronicles of St Mary's series or Great Zoo of China. I suggested both to a bunch of people, and MOST people who read both loved them. So YAY for that. I don't think there was a 2017 book I read that I encouraged others to read. If any of them would like LitRPG I would totally recommend The Land series by Aleron Kong, but I don't know of anyone into LitRPG ~ if you are, and you are reading this, message me, I want a LitRPG fan friend! :)


5. Best series you started in 2017?
The land by Aleron Kong! It's not for everyone and for some (stupid) reason it gets a lot of negative remarks but I absolutely LOVED it. I love the characters, I love the land, I love the story and I love how Nick Podehl brings it to life with his narration. I just wish there were more books out now, but I'm so glad that the author is no where near ready to stop them, I just will soon have to wait on new ones to come out. :(


Best Sequel of 2017?
Definitely The Wise Man's Fear. It was my first completion of the year and one of the best. Such a good series. Like everyone, I just wish we weren't waiting forever for the next installment.



                                      Best Series Ender of 2017?
I'd have to say Survivor but mainly because I didn't read a lot of series enders, maybe 3? So this one was the best of them. It was a good conclusion to a good time travel trilogy.


6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2017?
I'll have to go with Aleron Kong for this one. I thought The Land series might be good but I was unprepared for just how much it sucked me in. It's funny, it has heart, it's got good characters who aren't prefect. It's just pure FUN. As of writing this, I still haven't listened to the 5th book I think I might save it for my first book of 2018. The only reason is because the 6th book isn't out on audiobook yet (soon) and the 7th isn't done yet. I don't wanna be waiting!


7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
I don't have a comfort zone anymore. I read whatever sounds good to me, so nothing on my list really. Last year I would have said Fantasy, I didn't read a lot of the more epic type fantasy but I read a bunch of that this year. There's a mix of almost everything through my Read list, even two non-fictions which is rare for me. So I guess that's my answer. The best would have been Scrappy Little Nobody, cuz I adore Anna Kendrick. :)



8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
I'm gonna go with my answer from last year and say that MOST of what I read is action-packed, thrilling and unputdownable. Those are the best kinds of books!! That being said, just because something isn't action packed, doesn't mean it's not unputdownable, so I'm gonna break this up into three, because I can.

Action-packed:
I'm going to go with The Land series by Aleron Kong for action packed. While there are down times, most of it is just like a video game (hence the LitRPG) and it's nearly non-stop action. I love the series, I've rated all of the first 4 books a 5 star book.



Thrilling:
I'll go with Artemis for this one. This book is NOT on the same level as The Martian and can't be compared to it, but it was still good in its own ways. I rated both a 5 star rating, but if the ratings were on a scale of 10 instead, I'd rate The Martian a 10 and Artemis an 8. It was still really enjoyable and I flew through it.


Unputdownable:
Even though it seems like I read this forever ago (really just the first days of Jan 2017) it still stands as the most unputdawnable of the year, just as the first book in the series was for last year.




9. Book You Read In 2017 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Probably the Chronicles of St Mary's series. I've already re-read the first book 2 (or 3) times this year. In December, I just listened to the new Audible Drama version of the first book and that was enjoyable. Great Zoo of China and The Martian seem to be books I get around to at least once a year as well.



10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2017?
Gotta go with The Traveler, I think it's a very pretty cover. :)


11. Most memorable character of 2017?
Kvothe from King Chronicles and Richter from The Land series.


12. Most beautifully written book read in 2017?
Starting to get into the questions I don't like. I read mainly books where people are shooting each other and killing each other. I like ACTION, not typically known to be beautifully written, but I love them. The Night Circus is still the most beautifully written book I've read since 2011. But, if I must pick one for 2017 then I'd have to go with Lost in a Book, since I'm a Beauty and the Beast fan. Funny enough, my answer last year was a Beauty and the Beast retelling! (Beauty by Caroline Lee)




13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2017?
UGH! None! I don't read thought-provoking or Life-Changing books. Blech!! Though I read two non-fiction books they certainly were't thought-provoking or life-changing. I don't read to get enlightened, I read for the fun of it.



14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2017 to finally read?
Nothing big like last year (11/22/63), so I'll go with the Ever After High series. It's been on my TBR for a while, dunno how long, but quite a while. I finally tried it out and I ADORE it, especially in audiobook format. I love Maddie, she's so awesome and cute and adorable. I just started watching the series too, I enjoy it as well.



15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2017?
Many!! All depressing, so skip this one if you don't wanna read depressing quotes. Here's two I especially liked:

~ “Well-wishers will tell you that wounds heal over time.
Don't believe them.
The only thing time heals is other people's memories. Surprisingly soon, they forget about your tragedy. They move on. They forget that your pain is as constant as your heartbeat.
Gift it time, they say. Things will get easier, they say. I can't remember how many times a well-intentioned family friend or a sincerely concerned observer assured me of this so-called "fact".
You'll get over it. You have a future. You'll be okay.
It's all a lie.”
― Keith Houghton

~ “Everything hurts. I don't know how to make it stop. It hurts when I breathe. It hurts when I think. I feel like I'm drowning, and it's my fault, and I don't know how to be okay. I don't know if I CAN be okay. I don't know if I should be allowed to be okay.”
― Victoria Schwab, The Archived


16.Shortest and Longest Book You Read In 2017?
The shortest, and only book I read that was under 99 pages, was a 54 page short story in the Chronicles of St Mary's series ~ A Perfect Storm. The longest book was The Wise Man's Fear at 1000 pages. I said I was going to aim for longer books in 2017 and I did go up a bit. My average book length in 2016 was 258 pages, probably because I read so many in the 100-300 range for the big challenge. For 2017, my average book length was 335.



17. Book That Shocked You The Most
I'm going to have to go with "And the Rest is History". Even though I knew some stuff was coming, I didn't know about others and OMG that book. I rated it a 1 star and a DNF at first, at about 15% into it, because I couldn't handle it. But I went back to it, only in Kindle format rather than my usual audiobook, that way I could skip through certain parts. That whole book was one big shock after another, most not in a good way.



18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)
UGH!! I hate these terms. Really really hate. Racks up there with chat speak and other crappy shit of the internet. But since I gotta answer, I'm going to go with Gin and Owen. I like how he accepts her and treats her. First book linked, though we don't meet Owen til a different book


19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
Ritcher and Sion definitely, though if she can be considered, I'd Alma (a dragonling) to the mix. Just all three of them are so fun and enjoyable. I love the funny relationship and quips. So enjoyable!


20. Favorite Book You Read in 2017 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
I'd have to say Artemis by Andy Weir or The Delphi Effect by Rysa Walker



21. Best Book You Read In 2017 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:
No one pressures me into anything, I really wanna I wanna read, and nothing that I read this year was solely on recommendations, they all were what I wanted to read. I'd say "In the Woods" was a book I heard the most about from others, and I thought it was good, but not great. I liked the story but I didn't love the characters.


22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2017?
Ugh. Again! Married woman here. No crushes, at all. Absolutely no one stood out to me this year in my books. If I HAD to pick someone, I'd say Owen from the Elemental Assassin series and I'm still adoring Max from the Chronicles of St Mary's series, even though the most recent book was super hard to read.



23. Best 2017 debut you read?
Most definitely Nyxia. There was only one thing about this book I didn't like, a last minute insta-romance type thing. Other than that, this book was SOOOOO very good. I can't wait for the next!


24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
The Land series by Aleron Kong. Love the world, love the Mist Village.


25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
The Land series. I never fail to laugh at something Ritcher says/does. It's quite comical at times, I am always glad to read the next book and I wish I wasn't quickly catching up!



26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2016?

I HATE HATE books that make me cry. I don't do it. I stay away from books that I know will make me cry and I get pissed off when a random one makes me cry. This time it was And the Rest is History. I knew I shouldn't read it, but I knew I couldn't. I made it 15% before I was pissed and crying and hating the book. I rated it a 1 and put it away. I ended up going back to it a few months later, skipped over the parts I couldn't handle and loved the rest. Just wish she'd not gone there. :/


27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

I am going to go back to Keys for this one. It was only rated 252 times and I thought it was really good.


28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
Ergh. I hate this question, so very very much. Typically I don't answer because I hate it, but this time I have to go with "And the Rest is History". Damn that book, damn it all!! :/



29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2017?
I'd have to go with Rotherweird for this one. It was a very unique and different book. It got a little slow at times, but overall it was quite enjoyable. My only real issue with it was that it had 10 different characters all with the last name that started with the letter F. It made the book confusing and I rarely get confused with books. But between a Finch and a Flask, I had a hard time keeping everyone straight.



30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

I was sooooooooo pissed off at this book, at the author for writing it. I couldn't handle it for a long while and when I did finally go back to it, I had to do the Kindle so I could skip parts. I wish authors would realize that no normal person wants to read about a loss of a child, no matter how it's lost. I wish authors wouldn't touch on such subjects.

Book Blogging

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2019?
None. Sorry. My blogging was sadly ignored this year. I hoped to get back more into it, but I didn't. Probably because I spent the first half of the year coming up with challenges for a new challenge group at GoodReads, then I launched the group with a friend. It takes up a lot of time, so if I'm not reading or playing games, I'm doing things with the group.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2017?
Sadly, I only did one set of mini reviews on my blog ~ Bunch of Mini Reviews so I guess that was my favorite. :/

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
None really, I didn't post much at all. I suppose my Dewey or Bout of Books Wrap-Ups?

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
None

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2016?
None

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?
None.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
My April Dewey's Mid-Event survey had the most views, with 84. Dunno why, but yay. I do miss the days when everything had over 100 views, but I gotta do more to get more!

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
This one. :)

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
None

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
Initially I set my year goal at 300 and I didn't meet that. I underestimated how much I'd game this year. :) I lowered it to 275 and still didn't meet that. :/ At least I read over 250 books, but it was my least amount of books read in a year since 2014.

LOOKING AHEAD to 2017

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2017?
I've already started the 5th book in The Land series and am 25% in on Jan 1st.  So far, enjoying it just like the others.  LOVE this series!







2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2018 (non-debut)?
Quite a few, I hope they all end up good. Here's some, but not all, of them





3. 2018 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
Well I hope that the 2018 debut is better than the 2017 one I was looking forward to, Caraval, which I didn't like at all. I don't pay attention to if its a debut or not, so I have to see. It looks like is the only debut book I have on my TBR at this time.




4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2018?



5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2018?
Nothing. This year was a good mix of reading and gaming, so it worked out well. I'd like to do more blogging, but I always say that and it just takes up game or book time, like this survey has. I've been working on it hours, because I always put everything into what I do, so blogging just takes up too much time, but I'm going to try more.



6. A 2018 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:
None, apparently I haven't read any yet, though I do have a few from NetGalley I just haven't gotten around to yet.


What were your favorites of 2017?