Wrapping Up My 2017 Year-Long Challenges

GoodReads Challenge

2017 Reading Challenge

Lark of The Bookwyrm’s Hoard has
completed her goal of reading
200 books in
2017!

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238 of 200 (100%)

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I finished the year with 238 books read, beating my target goal of 200 by 38 books. Before you get too excited, 1) I was sick with mono for several months, and had little energy for anything but reading, and 2) I ended up rereading a lot, for various reasons, and I find that I can usually reread a book faster than I read it the first time.

Breaking down my statistics, I read

1. 97 first-time reads, vs. 136 re-reads. So about 42% were new-to-me titles, and 58% were re-reads. (5 books missing from stats; see below.) 
2. 56 books published in 2017. Many were ARCs, but not all.
3. 36 books that qualified for The Backlist Reader Challenge.

Note: GR had occasional problems with books not showing up on the “read” shelf even though I’d read them, so these statistics are off by 5 books. However, all books seem to show up on the Reading Challenge, so the 238 figure is definitely correct.

Click the image below to see all the books I read this year.

The Backlist Reader Challenge 2017

Host: The Bookwyrms Hoard
Progress: 0/24 (0%)

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The Backlist Reader Challenge ran all year (and is hosted here on The Bookwyrm’s Hoard.) It’s a chance to focus on those older titles you’ve been wanting to read. You can check out all the rules for 2018 by clicking here. If you want to sign up for the 2018 challenge, click the link in the sidebar.

I read 36 books so far this year that qualified for The Backlist Reader Challenge, but I only reviewed 10 of them. (Reviewed books show up in the progress bar and are listed above. You can see my as-yet-unreviewed books below.) Next year, I hope to do better when it comes to reviewing what I read.

1. The Hexed by Heather Graham (Krewe of Hunters #13; I’m not reading them in order.)
2. The Next Always by Nora Roberts (Inn BoonsBoro #1)
3. The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts (InnBoonsboro #2)
4. The Perfect Hope by Nora Roberts (InnBoonsboro #3)
5. Can’t Wait by Jennifer Ryan (Montana Men #0.5; novella)
6. Dance Upon the Air by Nora Roberts (Three Sisters Island #1)
7. Heaven and Earth by Nora Roberts (Three Sisters Island #2)
8. Face the Fire by Nora Roberts (Three Sisters Island #3)
9. Heart of the Sea by Nora Roberts (Gallaghers of Ardmore #3)
10. A Stranger in Mayfair by Charles Finch (Charles Lenox mysteries #4)
11. Eclipse Bay by Jayne Ann Krentz (Eclipse Bay #1)
12. Dawn in Eclipse Bay by Jayne Ann Krentz (Eclipse Bay #2)
13. Summer in Eclipse Bay by Jayne Ann Krentz (Eclipse Bay #3)
14. The Paid Companion by Amanda Quick
15. Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn (Lady Julia Grey #1)
16. Absolutely, Positively by Jayne Ann Krentz
17. High Noon by Nora Roberts (review written)
18. Blue Dahlia by Nora Roberts (In the Garden #1)
19. Black Rose by Nora Roberts (In the Garden #2)
20. Red Lily by Nora Roberts (In the Garden #3)
21. Heart Fate by Robin D. Owens (Celta’s Heartmates #7)
22. Heart Journey by Robin D. Owens (Celta’s Heartmates #9)
23. Heart Search by Robin D. Owens (Celta’s Heartmates #10)
24. Heart Secret by Robin D. Owens (Celta’s Heartmates #12)
25. Heart Fortune by Robin D. Owens (Celta’s Heartmates #12)
26. Heart Fire by Robin D. Owens (Celta’s Heartmates #13)

Summary

I rocked my Goodreads Reading Challenge, thanks to rereading a ton of previously-read books all year. (Thanks a lot, mono. I wish I’d had more energy to read new-to-me books, but oh, well, better luck in 2018.)

I read more than my goal for The Backlist Reader Challenge, but I didn’t have the energy to write most of their reviews.

I didn’t read any Newbery Medal winners this year, but that’s an open-ended challenge, so I’m not worried about it.

I did all right on my shorter challenges; you can see those results by clicking the 2017 Challenges button below my blog header.

Next Year

I plan to participate in the same two year-long challenges in 2018, and will probably keep my reading goals the same as this year.

My big goal for 2017 is to write better reviews. That’s been hard this year, because I’ve felt very burnt out when it comes to reviewing, and it shows. I don’t think my reviews have been as well-written as they were a few years ago.

Given a choice between quality and quantity, I’d like to write better reviews rather than more reviews, but I would also like to review more of the books I read. I really fell down on the job when it came to both reading and reviewing ARCs in 2017. For 2018, I plan to request fewer books, try to catch up on last year’s missed reviews, and focus more on reading and reviewing the books that truly appeal to me. I’m still trying to figure out how to deal with the sense of burnout.

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