A Year in Books 2017

It's time to look back at another year in books. Happily I did a bit better with my reading in 2017 than I did in 2016.

In 2017 I read 17, 894 pages in 100 books. Not a bad effort. Up from the 11, 075 in 2016, but not at the dizzying heights of 2015 (20,061).

That 100 books in 2017 is no small coincidence. I had set my Goodreads target to 100 for the year, and for most of the year I was keeping up and on track but things unwound a little in the last few months of the year, and I had to make a concerted effort in late December to get to that magical 100. I did it with 50 minutes to spare! A close call indeed.

I wasn't particularly great at rating or reviewing books in 2017. Some of these I did give 5 stars at the time, some have just really stuck with me.

Scrappy Little Nobody. Anna Kendrick. Audio.

Florette. Anna Walker

The Remarkable Secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen. Deborah Abela. Audio

Maggot Moon. Sally Gardner. Audio. My Book of the Year. 

Don't Call Me Bear. Aaron Blabey

The Weight of a Human Heart. Ryan O'Neill

The Hidden Life of Trees. Peter Wohlleben. Audio

Tuck Everlasting. Natalie Babbitt

The Hate U Give. Angie Thomas

Burial Rites. Hannah Kent. Audio

Moonrise. Sarah Crossan

Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls. Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo

12 of my 100 reads were 5 stars.

5 Aussie books. 

4 Adult reads.

2 Picture Books. 

1 Verse Novel.

5 Audio Books. 

3 Nonfiction/memoir.

10 Female Authors.

3 Male Authors

9 New to Me Authors!

The Weight of a Human Heart had a big impact on my reading aspirations being the first short story collection that I've read in many a year. I have now amassed quite a number of short story collections (quite a number), I hope that more will be appearing in the best reads of 2018. 

Also interesting that 5 of my top 12 were audio books. I really have taken to them with gusto. I really loved all of those audio books. Maggot Moon was particularly stupendous of course, but the others are all fabulous. Burial Rites was magnificent and beautifully read, and it was wonderful to hear the Icelandic names and places pronounced rather than stumbling over them every time whilst reading. Noone could be more surprised than I was to actually listen to a celebrity memoir (it's not my thing) and then enjoying it so much. And The Hidden Life of Trees really changed how I view and think about trees. Did I even think about trees before? Not nearly as much. 

Rather incredibly I appear to have not read any Jackie French in 2017 so she can't make an appearance in this list. This is the first time that this has happened since lists began to be compiled. I shall have to rectify this terrible omission in 2018. 

A Year in Books 2016

Yes, yes, I know that's it's nearly half way through 2017 already, but I haven't had a chance to look back at my 2016 reading just yet.

I had a bad reading year last year. I only read 79 books. 11, 075 pages. Almost half the 20, 061 pages I read in 2015.

And I was really bad at rating the books I actually did read on goodreads last year too. If I'd done more ratings I think there'd be more books here. Still I managed to give 7 books 5 stars.

Reckoning. An extraordinary memoir from Magda Szubanski.

The Minpins. A re-read of one of my very favourite Dahls.

Cyclone. Jackie French's retelling of Cyclone Tracy for a new generation.

The Anti-Cool Girl. Is actually a cool book.

And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda. A powerful anti-war ballad.

The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen 83 1/4 Years Old. Oh so naughty grandparents in a Dutch nursing home.

Charlie and the War against the Grannies. A silly, funny debut from Alan Brough.

7 out of my 79 reads were five stars.

3 Aussie books

3 Adults reads

3 Picture books

2 Nonfiction/memoir

3 Female authors

4 Male authors

5 New to me authors

Rather predictable to have Roald Dahl and Jackie French make an appearance I suppose. Lets hope it's a better reading this year, although I'm already 8 books behind my goodreads target! And it's still February...

A Year in Books 2015

It's time to look back in awe at the best reading I did in 2015. Well, it's actually getting a little late for it, I know most everyone else has done their list, but I do enjoy this retrospection, and will enjoy looking back on it years from now too.

As usual I'm relying on the books I gave 5 stars to on Goodreads this year. I read 118 books in 2015. A fair effort but well short of the somewhat random 200 I set myself as a goal.


Withering-by-Sea. An exciting Victorian tale of mystery and adventure.

I am Juliet. Always good to have a Jackie French on my end of year list. 

See Ya, Simon. Powerful Kiwi storytelling. 

Redwall. It really surprised me that I liked this book so much. It still does. 

The Man Who Loved Boxes. A beautiful picture book about the father son bond. 

Brock. An extraordinarily powerful book about badgers and many other things. 

Pardon My French. A fabulous little book that taught me so much

Sister Madge's Book of Nuns. Doug MacLeod is hilarious. 

Protected. Claire Zorn is going from strength to strength. 

Mister Monday. I finally got to read, well listen to, Garth Nix, and he's brilliant. 

The Impossible Knife of Memory. More Laurie Halse Anderson brilliance. 

Fattypuffs and Thinifers. Perfect French Quirkiness. 

The Running Man. My book of the year. 

Risk. A great page turning YA cautionary tale. 

Thelma the Unicorn. Picture book perfection from Aaron Blabey. 

Ash Road. An Australian classic, still fresh today. 

The Witches. Roald Dahl, the master.

The Girl on the Train. It's so nice to get caught up in a thriller from time to time.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Totally lives up to the hype. 

The Lucy Family Alphabet. Is it possible that I love Judith just that little bit more now?

Coco Chanel. A fabulous illustrated biography of fashion's most famous designer. 

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. A fabulous near Dickensian story with added wolves. 

22 out of the 118 books earnt themselves 5 stars. That's a pretty good hit rate.

12 Aussie Books

3 Picture Books

3 Nonfiction/Memoir

2 Paris Books

3 Audio Books

6 1001 Books

9 Female Authors

13 Male Authors

14 New to Me Authors

I hope 2016 is another great reading year. No reason to think it won't be...

Top Ten(ish) Books I Read in 2014 (A Year in Books 2014)

I don't like looking back til the year has finished, so I've missed the boat about joining in with the Top Ten folks and their best of 2014 list. So I'll just have to peruse it by myself.

These are the books I rated as 5 star reads on goodreads. Click on the title to read my review.

A Bear Called Paddington. Such a sweet, funny book. Well deserving of being an enduring favourite.

Brown Girl Dreaming. It's great. Important, and great. Read it in 2015 if you haven't read it yet.

Pippi Longstocking. A childhood favourite, still as wonderful.

The Incredible Journey. A perfect adventure through the Canadian wilderness that I wish I had read as a child.

Parisian Cats. Because a book about cats in Paris will always be great.

Parachute. A gem from the CBCA shortlist, brilliant use of perspective to allay anxiety.

I Will  Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato. Lauren Child at her very best.

Popular. A fantastic memoir about the quest to be popular as a teenager. Universal.

Kissed by the Moon. More brilliance from Alison Lester- one of her best I think. Perfect for new parents.

Loyal Creatures. Totally moving, compelling Australian response to Michael Morpurgo's War Horse.

Miss Rumphius. A new to me classic. It's gorgeous.

A House for Donfinkle. Because I love a book you've never heard of.

Window. A reread. Still as magnificent.

The Sweet Life in Paris. Because I certainly love the Sweet Life in Paris.

By the River. Probably my favourite book of the year. Certainly the one I fell hardest for. I read it twice, and listened to it multiple times in the car. Steven Herrick taught me to read and appreciate verse novels this year.

Trash. Master Wicker hated it when he read it for school. So I read it too.

Fire. Always good to have a Jackie French title on the list.

Maia and What Matters, a delicious picture book in translation.

I Am Not Esther. The best New Zealand book I've ever read I think.

Letters From the Inside. Another book from Master Wicker's school reading. He liked this one as much as I did.

My Life As An Alphabet. Utterly charming.

Ok, it's not really Ten(ish) it's Twenty One, but it's important to draw attention to the good books out there, and I don't see much point in trimming it down. I'm not sure that I could anyway.

9 Aussie titles

8 Picture books

3 Nonfiction/Memoir

2 Paris books

13 Female authors

8 Male authors

You can see my previous Years in Books. 2013. 2012. 2011. Actually Jackie French is the only author to have made my list every year.