2017 Review and End of Year Survey

I just watched Lala answer her End of Year Survey and a few other videos of 2017 wrap ups, so I thought I would give it a try. I do not get to read very much, so my list is short and sweet. I'm hoping to change that in 2018, but with my job and kids and travel that I like to do, I just don't know how much more I can read. With that being said, I read 12 books this year.

What I Read

Starting with the first book I read:

1. Dead Men Don't Crochet (Crochet Mystery #2) by Betty Hechtman 3/5

2. Everything We Keep (The Everything Series #1) by Kerry Lonsdale 3.5/5

3. The Chocolate Cat Caper (A Chocoholic Mystery #1) by JoAnna Carl 3.75/5

4. Dead Bolt (A Haunted Home Renovation Mystery #2) by Juliet Blackwell 3/5

5. The Chocolate Bear Burglary (A Chocoholic Mystery #2 ) by JoAnna Carl 3.75/5

6. Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine 5/5

7. We Were Liars by E Lockhart 3/5

8. Murder on the House (A Haunted Home Renovation Mystery #3) by Juliet Blackwell 4/5

9. The Chocolate Frog Frame-Up (A Chocoholic Mystery #3) by JoAnna Carl 4/5

10. The Sandcastle Empire by Kayla Olson 4/5

11. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee 4/5

12. Inconvenient Murder (Inept Witches #1) by Amanda A. Allen 2/5

End of Year Survey

How many books did you read? Did you meet your goal?

I read twelve books which isn't a lot for most people, but I was pretty excited with that number compared to my last couple of years. I don't really set specific goals, usually it's just to read more than the previous year.
Most read genre?

Cozy Mystery with 7 out of the 12
Longest and shortest books you read.

The longest book I read was definitely The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue at 513 pages, and the shortest book was We Were Liars at 227.
Favourite book published in 2017?

I only read 2 books published in 2017, The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue and The Sandcastle Empire, and I gave them both 4/5 stars. However, if I have to pick one it would by The Sandcastle Empire. It was in my first OwlCrate box, and it really started me reading YA again.

Favourite book not published this year?

This is definitely Mockingbird since it's the only book I gave 5/5 stars.
A book that lived up to the hype.

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

A book that did NOT live up to the hype.

We Were Liars
Book that felt like the biggest accomplishment?

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue It took me three months, but I finally finished it.
Favourite character.

Caitlin from Mockingbird
Least favourite character.

Both characters in Inconvenient Murder
Most shocking book/moment.

Probably the end of We Were Liars
The best written book you read this year.

Mockingbird
Book that you pushed the most people to read in 2017.

Mockingbird or We Were Liars
Favourite book cover of the year.

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue
What book made you cry the most?

Mockingbird no contest

A new favourite author you discovered this year.

JoAnna Carl - she's been around a long time and so has the Chocoholic Mystery series, but I just started it and liked it enough to read three this year.
Were you happy with your reading year?

yes

Day #2 - Cramathon update

I set the goal for day #2 of Cramathon to read Part 1 of Six of Crows.  The idea of cramathon was to try and finish some short books to end the year.  The problem is I don't have any short books in my TBR, much less any short books that fit the challenges.  Because of this, I just picked books in my immediate TBR that would fit the challenges, and I know I'm not going to get them finished in 7 days.  So yesterday I started Six of Crows and finished the first part.  It's really good so far, and I'm excited to read Part 2 today.

I also plan to continue reading The Hearts We Sold by Emily Lloyd-Jones today.  I started this book a few weeks ago, but only read about 40 pages.  Luckily, it fit one of the challenges for cramathon, so I will be continuing it today as well.

WWW: December 27th

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words where you answer three fixed questions, but I found it on Kathy's blog @ Books & Munches.
Question #1:  What are you currently reading?

I started Six of Crows this morning for a challenge in the Cramathon.



Question #2:  What did you recently finish reading?

Yesterday I finished Inconvenient Murder for Cramathon.




Question #3:  What are you reading next?

These are the rest of the books I hope to read for the Cramathon:

Book #1 read for Cramathon

I finished Inconvenient Murder by Amanda Adams for challenge #1 - read a book under 200 pages.  This was not a very good book, but luckily it was short, and I trudged through.  It's the first book in the Inept Witches series, but needless to say, I will not be continuing the series.



I'm going to start Six of Crows tomorrow.  This is a long book, so I won't be able to finish it tomorrow, but hopefully, I can get a good start.

Cram-a-thon

I'm determined to turn over a new leaf with the coming year.  I want to read more, scrapbook more, and spend more time with my family.  To start with these goals, I've joined the Cram-a-thon.  Here are the challenges and my TBR:

1.  Book under 200 pages - Inconvenient Murder by Amanda A. Allen (An Inept Witches Mystery)  I started this at midnight and so far I'm 30 percent finished.  I picked this because it was on my Kindle and the first book I found under 200 pages that I already owned.  I'm not loving it, but I plan on finishing it.

2.  Book with LGBTQ representation - Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo  I've heard great things about this book and want to add it to my book-give-away pile at school, but I feel like I should read it before giving it away.

3.  Book with my favorite color on the cover - The Hearts We Sold by Emily Lloyd-Jones  I've actually already started this a few weeks ago, but my hope is to finish it during this week.  It's also a book I would like to give away.

4.  Book recommended by a friend - This challenge is really for reading a favorite book by the four hosts of this readathon, but I don't have any of those books, so instead I'm reading A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman which was recommended to me by my friend Shannon.

5.  Shortest book in my TBR pile - Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon  Another book I want to give away to my students.

6.  A book that was gifted to me - The Boy A Holocaust Story by Dan Porat   My mom bought me this book this summer, and I think it's the only book I own that's been gifted to me.

The last challenge is to read 7 books, but I'm a realist.  I know I'm going to be lucky to get two or three of these books read since all of them are rather hefty.  Here is a link to the video that announced cramathon.  It gives all the details of it for you.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8ZrrBz6_eE&t=7s