Well 2017 was one hell of a year. I had a lot of new challenges at work and was pretty distracted from reading for most of the year. I did enjoy more concentrated reading time on a couple vacations but unfortunately I didn’t meet my overall reading goal this year. And I had hoped it wasn’t possible but I fell even more behind with the schedule, one of my goals next year is going to be to concentrate on getting through some of the backlog.

So! To recap on the goals I had set for 2017:

1. Finish any ARC’s from 2016 that I missed from NetGalley – I only managed to read one off the list from 2016, plus I added an additional 30 of books I didn’t read from 2017. One of my main goals for next year is going to be concentrating on reading these and getting back on track! 
2. Participate in 2 reading challenges:
   1. Bout of Books 19 in May 2017 – Done! I had a great time participating in the Bout of Books 19 and I was able to focus on my reading for a week
   2. ARC August in August 2017 – ARC August 2017 was pretty successful (though a tad less successful than last year)
3. Other general goals:
   1. Writing shorter reviews – I managed this a little but this is something I’ll still  continue to work on!
   2. Continuing to establish relationships – I definitely accomplished this! I was able to establish some relationships with publishers that I’ve enjoyed working with and get notified on titles available for review that I really enjoy! I’m hoping to continue establishing my presence over the next year. 

I think I did pretty well with the goals this past year, though my work schedule did create some conflicts. Also I have to learn how to be more selective and not sign up for more reviews than I can handle. Anyways, here’s a chart for the books I read in 2017 versus 2016 and 2015.

And I figured I’d share a couple of my favorites from this past year:

Top Five Books Read in 2017

5. Everything You Want Me To Be by Mindy Mejia – 4.75 stars
4. The Simplicity of Apple Cider by Amy E. Reichert – 4.5 stars
3. The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers – 4.75 stars
2. Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker – 5.0 stars
1. Fitness Junkie by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza – 5.0 stars

Favorite Cover in 2017

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden – I loved this cover I thought it was beautifully mysterious and intriguing and really fit with the story. I loved it and the story as well!

And so we move on to the New Year! 2018 is here and this year is going to be all about getting things back on track and organized. I’ve simplified my goals this year (even more) and also have a few non-reading things I’m hoping to also focus on this year.

1. Participate in all the Bout of Books challenges this year – I’m hoping this will help me have more concentrated reading time this year
2. Do any available ARC challenges I can find, including my regularly scheduled ARC August
3. Read as many off my backlog as possible (right now there’s 52!)
4. Write shorter but also more creative blog posts – I’ve gotten stuck in a sort of outline lately for my review and it gets wordy and I think boring. Hopefully I’ll be able to branch out a little more this year
5. Also some personal goals! Eat healthier, lose weight, spend more time at home, spend more time with my husband and finish some of the house projects we have going on (including the library!)

So here’s looking forward to 2018 – hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are enjoying the New Year so far!