One of the unanticipated outcomes of my personal social media use has been being connected to other people who love to read. I have made new digital friends over a shared love of reading and have also been fortunate to broaden my reading horizons by being introduced to their reading lists and shelfies. I’m struck by how nerdy I sound just by typing this out, but I relish the conversation I hope that ensues (have you read this book yet, I love to read too, what was the best book you read last year, what do you hope to read in the future). Etc.

In 2016 I set the ambitious goal of reading 100 books in a year. I set this along side two other ambitious goals, both of which demanded huge portions of my time. At the end of the year I came up short of the reading goal but did break my all-time annual reading record, which I’ll admit was a decent concession.

Last year I read 100 books by accident. The outset of 2017 saw me aiming to read 50 books in the year, or about one a week. What I hadn’t anticipated was that I would become pregnant, develop a significant case of insomnia and spend hours on the couch trying to read myself back to sleep. Thus, by September of 2017 I recognized at my current pace (and December due date) I was well on track to read 100 books simply by continuing my night ritual of reading before bed as well as reading on Saturday morning before training. All I did was add in 3-4 nights a week of 2-4 hours a time of painstaking insomnia and BOOM! 100 books. I wouldn’t recommend to anyone that pregnancy is the manner in which to accomplish this type of goal and furthermore I wouldn’t wish the relentless, painstaking insomnia on anyone, but I am tickled I snuck through the year cracking the three-figure goal that has eluded me in the past.

Below is a list of what I read last year. On the below list a * indicates it was a book club read, the ** marks my favourite of the year. At the very end of the list are my previous years reading lists.

Difficult Women ROXANE GAY

The Athletic Mom-To-Be JENNIFER FARAONE

The Lauras SARA TAYLOR

The Hate U Give ANGIE THOMAS *

Amanda Wakes Up ALISON CAMEROTA

Made For Love ALISSA NUTTING

The State of Affairs ESTHER PEREL

Slider PETE HAUTMAN **

The Hollywood Daughter KATE ALCOTT

Beartown FREDRIK BACKMAN

How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale JENNA JAMESON

Tiny Beautiful Things CHERYL STRAYED

The Shoe on the Roof WILL FERGUSON

Happiest Baby on the Block HARVEY KARP

We’ll All Be Burnt in Our Beds Some Night JOEL THOMAS HYNES

Rising Strong BRENE BROWN

How to Fall in Love with Anyone MANDY LEN CATRON

The Lying Game RUTH WARE

Goodbye, Vitamin RACHEL KHONG **

One Day We’ll be Dead and None of This Will Matter  SCAACHI KOUL

Son of a Trickster EDEN ROBINSON **

Shut Up Legs! My Wild Ride JENS VOIGT

I Found You LISA JEWELL

Bellevue Square MICHAEL REDHILL

I am a Truck MICHELLE WINTERS

Manhattan Beach JENNIFER EGAN

Transit RACHEL CUSK

The Husband’s Secret LIANE MORIARTY

A Stranger in the House SHARI LAPENA

The Day of the Jackal FREDERICK FORSYTH *

Ball: Stories TARA ISON

What Happened HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON *

This is How it Always Is LAURIE FRANKEL **

Rich People Problems KEVIN KWAN

The Nix NATHAN HILL **

Until it Fades K.A. TUCKER

The Weekend Effect KATRINA ONSTAD **

Girl Walks Out of a Bar LISA SMITH

The Confusion of Languages SIOBHAN FALLON

The Identicals ELIN HILDERBRAND

Miss You KATE EBERLEN

The Marriage Bureau: How Two Matchmakers Arranged Love in Wartime London PENROSE HALSON

The Best of Adam Sharp GRAEME SIMSION

Postcards from the Edge CARRIE FISHER

Public Relations KATIE HEANEY

Nutshell IAN MCEWAN **

Poles Apart TERRY FALLIS

She Rides Shotgun JORDAN HARPER ** (I loved this read so much I also bolded it on the list)

1984 GEORGE ORWELL

In a Dark, Dark Wood RUTH WARE

The Woman in Cabin 10 RUTH WARE

The Forgetting Time SHARON GUSKIN

I Hear She’s a Real Bitch JEN AGG

Blood, Bones and Butter GABRIELLE HAMILTON **

Behind Her Eyes SARAH PINBOROUGH

Escape from Camp 14 BLAINE HARDEN *

Wedding Toasts I’ll Never Give ADA CALHOUN **

Waiting for First Light: My Ongoing Battle with PTSD ROMEO DALLAIRE *

Who Thought This Was a Good Idea ALYSSA MASTROMONACO

The Wanderers MEG HOWREY **

Drunk Mom JOWITA BYDLOWSKA

Guy JOWITA BYDLOWSKA

The Chemist STEPHANIE MEYER

The Power of Off: The Mindful Way to Stay Sane in a Virtual World NANCY COLIER **

The Dry JANE HARPER

The Glorious Heresies LISA MCINERNEY

How to Murder Your Life CAT MARNELL

Valley of the Dolls JACQUELINE SUSANN

The Best Kind of People ZOE WHITTALL

The Improbability of Love HANNAH ROTHSCHILD **

Books for Living WILL SCHWALBE

Into the Water PAULA HAWKINS

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo TAYLOR JENKINS REID

Out of Bounds VAL MCDERMID

You CAROLINE KEPNES

Still Mine AMY STUART

The Wonder EMMA DONOGHUE

The Spy PAULO COELHO

Bridget Jone’s Baby HELEN FIELDING

Next Year, For Sure ZOEY LEIGH PETERSON

Hidden Bodies CAROLINE KEPNES

Everything You Want Me to Be MINDY MEJIA

One True Loves TAYLOR JENKINS REID

Dark Matter BLAKE CROUCH

Swing Time ZADIE SMITH **

Into Thin Air JON KRAKAUER

The Lonely City OLIVIA LAING

Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less ALEX SOOJUNG-KIM PANG **

All the Missing Girls MEGAN MIRANDA

Behind Closed Doors B.A. PARIS

Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman LINDY WEST

Hunger: a Memoir of My Body ROXANE GAY

Scrappy Little Nobody ANNA KENDRICK

The Hopefuls JENNIFER CLOSE

Screw Everyone OPHIRA EISENBERG

Luckiest Girl Alive JESSICA KNOLL

Kitchens of the Great Midwest J. RYAN STRADAL **

What I Read in 2016

What I Read in 2015

What I Read in 2014