I’m obsessed with reading. It’s true. I’d say I’m on the road to recovery, but I’d probably stop by the library first.
I’ve gotten a lot of questions recently about how I find the time to read. For me, it’s about making time. Reading is my self-care. I shared many ideas on how to make time for yourself in this post over at the Knoxville Moms Blog.
My reading goal for 2017 was originally to simply read more than I did in 2016. I met that goal towards the end of the summer! Since I finished so early, I set what I considered a high number: 75.
I did it! I read 76 books by year’s end, and finished what would’ve been the 77th on January 1, so instead it became book 1 of 2018.
Without further ado, here’s the full list of what I read in 2017 (let’s just ignore the stack of magazines I totally abandoned and am way behind on!)
2017 Books I’ve Read
- Black Heels and Tractor Wheels, Res Drummond
- Sweet Water, Christina Baker Kline
- Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline
- My Not-So-Perfect Life, Sophie Kinsella
- The Assistants, Camille Perri
- The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris, Jenny Colgan
- gods in Alabama, Joshilyn Jackson
- The Girl Who Stopped Swimming, Joshilyn Jackson
- Lucky Us, Amy Bloom
- Backseat Saints, Joshilyn Jackson
- Between, Georgia, Joshilyn Jackson
- Magnolia Story, Chip and Joanna Gaines
- All the Summer Girls, Meg Donahue
- The Life List, Lori Nelson Spielman
- The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend, Katarina Bivald
- Go Set a Watchman, Harper Lee
- The Jane Austen Book Club, Karen Joy Fowler
- This is your life, Harriet Chance!, Jonathan Evison
- Meet me at Cupcake Cafe, Jenny Colgan
- The Guest Cottage, Nancy Thayer
- The Bookshop on the corner, Jenny Colgan
- The butterfly and the violin, Kristy Cambron
- Present over Perfect, Shauna Niequist
- Disconnected, Jennifer Wiener
- The Lost Heiress, Roseanna M. White
- The Opposite of Everyone, Joshilyn Jackson
- The Summer Before the War, Helen Simonson
- Windfallen, JoJo Moyes
- Someday, Someday, Maybe; Lauren Graham
- Daisy Chain, Mary DeMuth
- Sweetshop of Dreams, Jenny Colgan
- A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty, Joshilyn Jackson
- Saints for All Occasions, J. Courtney Sullivan
- Blackbird House, Alice Hoffman
- The Two-Family House, Lynda Cohen Loigman
- Movie Star by Lizzie Pepper by Hilary Lifton
- True colors, Kristin Hannah
- A Slow Burn, Mary DeMuth
- Life in Defiance, Mary DeMuth
- Home Front, Kristin Hannah
- Eleanor and Park, Rainbow Rowell
- By the numbers, Jen Lancaster
- Looking for Alaska, John Green
- The Marble Collector, Cecelia Ahern
- Perfect, Cecelia Ahern
- The Art of Neighboring, Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon
- The Kitchen Goddesses, Barbara O’Neal
- A piece of heaven, Barbara O’Neal
- Lady Luck’s Map of Vegas, Barbara O’Neal
- Claude and Camille, Stephanie Cowell
- Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery, Jenny Colgan
- Today will be different, Maria Semple
- Sloppy Firsts, Megan McCafferty
- Close Enough to Touch, Colleen Oakley
- How to Start a Fire, Lisa Lutz
- To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Jenny Han
- Of Mess and Moxie, Jen Hatmaker
- The Spectacular Now, Tim Tharp
- Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, Beth Hoffman
- Three Story House, Courtney Miller Santo
- Return to the Isle of the Lost, Melissa de la Cruz
- I’ll see you in Paris, Michelle Gable
- PS I still love you, Jenny Han
- The Right Side, Spencer Quinn
- The lake house, Kate Morton
- Out of the Spin Cycle, Jen Hatmaker
- Radium Girls, Kate Moore
- Always and Forever, Lara Jean; Jenny Han
- Harriet Beamer takes the bus, Joyce Magnin
- Fates and Furies, Lauren Groff
- Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine, Gail Honeyman
- The Almost Sisters, Joshilyn Jackson
- Lyrebird, Cecelia Ahern
- Christmas at the little beach street bakery, Jenny Colgan
- The scent of hours, Barbara O’Neal
- Disney Lands: The Return, Ridley Pearson
Best of the Best
I have some definite favorites for this year, but too many to narrow it down to just one. So by category:
Nonfiction- Jen Hatmaker’s Of Mess and Moxie made me laugh, and think, and realize I’m not alone in my struggles. Radium Girls came in a close second, because it was riveting, but also heart-wrenching.
YA- Do I have to pick? I loved the Lara Jean series by Jenny Han, as she perfectly blended average teen struggles with grieving and trying to fit both of your cultures into your life. But Cecelia Ahern’s finale to the Flawed series was utterly captivating, and I couldn’t put it down. So- it’s a tie.
Southern Lit- Joshilyn Jackson’s The Almost Sisters stole my heart and mind. It was thoughtfully written, weaving racial tension and family history seamlessly together through quite possibly one of my favorite protagonists. All of Jackson’s characters are so thoroughly developed they feel completely real, and I obviously want to be besties with all of them.
Fiction- I can’t pick just one. I just can’t. I will narrow it down to two authors, who’s backlists I’ve been steadily working my way through. Jenny Colgan and Barbara O’Neal appear numerous times in my list for this year, as their works are enchanting and I can’t get enough of them. I now want to visit all of Colorado, the UK, and Paris, where the majority of their respective novels are set. They paint such lovely worlds with their words, and I’ve loved spending time there.
Most of the books I read had something I loved about them; a character, setting, or even just a sentence that brought me joy.
If you want to follow my reading journey in 2018, I regularly post about what I’m reading on Instagram (@PawPrintsintheSink). If I’m feeling brave, I tag the author in my #InsaReview, and Barbara O’Neal recently commented and that was a highlight of my year!
What were some of your favorite books of 2017? Do you have a reading goal for 2018?
Paw Prints in the Sink 