Reading 2017

So every year (well, I've done it for the past couple of 'em) there's this "how many books are you going to try to read?" challenge on Goodreads, and in 2017 I pledged I would read 40. As I got toward December I had still only read, like, 31, but I ended up sneaking in a few short books in the end, and I made my goal with one day to spare.

So Goodreads does this thing where it gives you some stats on what you read. Here are my stats for 2017:

I read 8,903 pages across 40 books.

Longest book was Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, at 870 pages.

Shortest book was Fast Forward: The Wild West, 32 pages.

Average length of books: 223 pages

My average rating for 2017: 3.5 stars (out of 5). I guess I tend to like what I read, or else I simply don't finish bad books (in which case, I usually don't rate them, either.)

My first review of the year was for The Mystery Of The Caramel Cat, a book I got because I remembered reading/liking it when I was 8, and I was feeling nostalgic. After reading it, I gave it 2 stars and wrote, "I do like the illustrations." (Hey! There's a less-than-stellar review!)

Four books I read this year got five stars from me were:

Charlotte's Web (re-read)

We Found A Hat (new)

Roller Girl (new)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner Of Azkaban (9th read or something)

A lot of the books I read this year were re-reads, including the Ramona series and most of the Harry Potter series (I'm halfway through #7). I read 2 new (to me) books by Dale Evans Rogers, and I plan to read more by her. I also finally read Beverly Cleary's Ramona - Behind The Scenes Of A Television Show in its entirety (rather than just the chapters that looked interesting, which I've done in the past.) Having just (re)watched all 10 vintage Ramona episodes via Youtube, reading the book was a great bonus.

I started using Audible this year, and am not ashamed to admit that most of my re-reads happened via audiobook. (If I listened to an abridged book, I didn't include it on my Goodreads list.) I actually love the service. If you need a break for a few months, Audible lets you pause the service without paying (but you can keep your books and accumulated credits); also, if you decide you don't like one of the books after all (for me, I just didn't care for the reader's pacing) you can return it and get your credit back. However, this may not be the best service if you like to listen to LOTS of audiobooks. For me, though, getting books that I'm sure I'll listen to again (ie the Anne books, Pride & Prejudice, and the Harry Potters) -- and being able to easily listen to them on my ipod or Echo (which will sync with each other) has been great.

Here's the link to my Goodreads 2017 Overview, and please join me on Goodreads if you're not already there!