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 **
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