I read a lot of books every year. I like to keep track of what I read every year and see how it stacks up to years before. Here are some of my reading statistics for 2017.
2017 Stats
Through the course of 2017 I read 308 books. There were 26 more that I started but did not finish.
Of those 308, the break down for target audience is
- 127 adult
- 98 middle grade
- 63 teen/young adult
- 10 picture books/early readers
- 9 transitional chapter books
- as well as 19 graphic novels for various ages
The genre breakdown (some books are counted in two categories) is
- 77 mystery
- 73 realistic
- 72 fantasy
- 35 science fiction
- 18 romance
- 17 non-fiction
- 6 Christian fiction
- 5 Christmas
- 4 historic fiction
- 3 memoirs/autobiographies
- 2 dystopian
- 3 suspense
This year most of the books I read were from the library (104). I read 59 books from my To Be Read shelves (which are overflowing), as well as 58 advanced reader copies from publishers. I also re-read 47 favorites this year.
I read more fantasy and nonfiction last year and more realistic fiction and science fiction this year. And I can see what difference not teaching has made in my reading. Last year I read a lot more picture books and early readers. This year there were more books for teens and adults.
2017 Favorites!!
I read a lot of books every year. I often don’t remember all the details, but I remember how they made me feel. I remember which books follow me throughout the year – how I feel when I see them in the bookstore or library or online. These are the ones I want to go back and read again. These are the ones I recommend over and over and over.
You can see my list of favorites from 2016 here. Last year I had five middle grade books, two YA books, and three books for adults (all fiction). When I went back through my list of the 300+ books I read in 2017, I came up with 50 that were candidates for the best of the year. I whittled that list down to ten – only one middle grade this time, five YA books, two adult fiction books and two nonfiction. And here they are:
10. Nothing to Prove – A fantastic non-fiction book. I hope to read it again this year and complete the Bible study that goes with it. You can read a little about this here and my full review here.
9. Barking Up the Wrong Tree – I loved this romance book, second in a series. I reviewed the third and final book in the series earlier this week. You can read my review of book one here. Book 2 is even better than the first! I enjoyed the chemistry between the main characters.
8. Draw the Circle – This is a forty day prayer journey. This is one I will go back to again and again. You can read a little about this book here. I’ll be doing a full review later in 2018.
7. Alien Education – This is book 15 in the Alien series by Gini Koch. This is my favorite fiction series. I included book 14 in my list last year. Book 16 releases in February. I just finished a re-read of the whole series, and I was struck again by how fun this particular book is. I know it is because so much of the story centers on the kids. I can’t wait to see what happens next! You can read my thoughts about this book here.
6. The Names They Gave Us – This book stuck with me all year because there were so many times in it where I felt known and understood in the description of the main character. You can read my review here.
5. It’s Not Me, It’s You – This book was not at all what I expected – in all the best ways! I loved the unusual format and the terrific characters. I actually have two books by this author on my list for 2017! You can read my review here.
4. Greetings from Witness Protection – This has a fantastic premise and the main character is a delight. I hope there will be more books with these characters. You can read my review of this one here.
3. Letters to the Lost – Another fantastic book for teens and young adults. I am chomping at the bit for her new book that comes out this spring since this one was so great! You can read my review here.
2. Prince in Disguise – This was a late addition to my list as it came out in December. Reading it was like eating a favorite dessert. I savored each page, giggling. The writing is so smart and the characters are delightful. This is the second book I have on my list from Stephanie Kate Strohm. You can read my full review here.
#1 – A List of Cages – Oh, this book. Whenever I see it I think about how the characters impacted me. They have followed me all year long. It’s a difficult read, but worth every tear and every tissue. You can read my review here.
As always, if you are looking for even more fantastic books, you can always check out my Five Star Reviews to see all of my favorites! I had a hard time choosing only 10 from all the terrific books in 2017. I have high hopes for great reading in 2018!
, from the library after eyeing the covers in bookstores over and over. I fell in love with that series, too. There’s a smart, sassy quality to both series that I adore. Jennifer Lynn Barnes is my go-to recommendation when I am talking to people about books for teens.
was probably my first encounter with Kate Messner’s work and it remains my favorite book of hers to this day (although there is stiff competition!). I’ve also loved 
or
). I just remember our whole household fell hard for this series about a kid with ADHD who finds out he is the son of the god Poseidon. We have read them multiple times and have the books in multiple formats – physical, audio, graphic novel. We have read Riordan’s Egyptian series (starting with 