Roof Beam Reader
Adam Burgess
2017 End of Year Book Survey
Welcome to my Big Book Survey for 2017!
Number Of Books You Read: 80 (goal of 75)
Number of Re-Reads: 12
Genre You Read Most: Literary Fiction/Classics + LGBT Fiction
Best Book You Read In 2017?
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue Mackenzi Lee
La Belle Sauvage (The Book of Dust #1) by Philip Pullman
Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
American Gods by Niel Gaiman
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
American Studies by Mark Merlis
Origin by Dan Brown
Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (re-read) / I was not as enamored this time.
Deadeye Dick by Kurt Vonnegut / Far deeper and more complex than I expected.
We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson / Fun, painful, insanely creative.
Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (Re-read)
Best series you started? Best Sequel of 2017? Best Series Ender of 2017?
Best series started: The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman
Best sequel: A Wind in the Door (Time Quintet #2) by Madeleine L’Engle
Best series ender: The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials #3) by Philip Pullman
Favorite new author you discovered?
Shaun David Hutchinson
Lorraine Hansberry
James Hanley
Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton (Politics)
Quiet: The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain (Psychology/Self-Help)
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (Mystery)
Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Secret of Spellshadow Manor by Bella Forrest
Book You Read In 2017 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
The Handmaid’s Tale by Marget Atwood
Favorite cover of a book you read in 2017?
Most memorable character of 2017?
Henry Montague from The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
Charles Wallace Murry from A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (re-read)
Jamie (and Peter) from Lost Boy: A True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry
Most beautifully written book read in 2017?
Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (re-read)
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2017?
What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton
And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman
American Philosophy: A Love Story by John Kaag
Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2017 to finally read?
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2017?
“Life, with its rules, its obligations, and its freedoms, is like a sonnet: You’re given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself.” -Madeleine L’Engle (A Wrinkle in Time)
Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2017?
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller (78 pages)
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (796 pages)
Everyone’s An Author, with Readings (1,050 pages — education text)
Book That Shocked You The Most
The Boy with the Red Hair by Chancery Stone
Boy by James Hanley
A Scarlet Pansy by Robert Scully
OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)
Monty and Percy from The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue
Meg and Calvin from A Wrinkle in Time (re-read)
Upsher and Doff from Saga by Brian K. Vaughan
Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
Matilda and Ms. Honey in Matilda by Roald Dahl
The Lisbon Sisters in The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
James Whale and Clayton Boone in Gods & Monsters by Christopher Bram (re-read)
Favorite Book You Read in 2017 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut
The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Saenz
History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera
Best Book You Read In 2017 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:
Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2017?
Monty from The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue
Percy from The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue
Alyosha Karamazov and Nikolai Krasotkin from The Brothers Karamazov
Best 2017 debut you read?
Lost Boy by Christina Henry
One of the Boys by Daniel Magariel
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman
Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (re-read)
Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Welcome to Dead House by R.L. Stine
The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson
Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2017?
And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman
At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchison
Blue Nights by Joan Didion
Hidden Gem Of The Year?
Poe: A Life Cut Short by Peter Ackroyd
Letters to a Young Writer by Colum McCann
Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky
Book That Crushed Your Soul?
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton
The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Most Unique Book You Read In 2017?
Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
Angels in America by Tony Kushner (re-read)
Poe: A Life Cut Short by Peter Ackroyd
What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton
New favorite book blog you discovered in 2017?
Oops – none…. Haven’t had much time to explore! Any recommendations?
Favorite review that you wrote in 2017?
Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
What Do We Mean by ‘Literary’?
Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2017?
Return of the Official TBR Pile Challenge
Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
Announcing: The Official 2018 TBR Pile Challenge
Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
Recommended Reading: Bending Boundaries
Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
It’s not exactly a new discovery, but I’m obsessed with Litographs!
Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
I re-introduced the TBR Pile Challenge for 2018. I hosted a year-long monthly classic reading event called the “Classic Book-a-Month” club (which, sadly, will not be returning in 2018). I hosted Austen in August again this year, and it was another big success. Lots of good things!
One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2017 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2018?
Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2018 (non-debut)?
2018 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
Anything Andrew Smith puts out!
Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2018?
I am hoping that J.K. Rowling releases the screenplay for The Crimes of Grindelwald, as she did for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2018?
I want to read all 14 books on my TBR Pile Challenge list. I want to read at least a few books from my Classics Club challenge list. And I would like to post new content more regularly, not necessarily just book reviews.
A 2018 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:
Hmmm…. Don’t think I’ve gotten any 2018 releases!
Roof Beam Reader 
Looks like a great reading year, and yay for Monty and Percy! I adore them and The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue. I still haven’t managed to finish listening to What Happened, as I’m afraid it will “crush my soul” too much. I just got a copy of The Hate You Give and will definitely be reading it asap. Happy 2018 reading, Adam!
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McCann’s Letters to a Young Writer is definitely a gem. I haven’t seen it mentioned often on blogs I follow though. And I plan to join that TBR challenge next year. I seriously need to put a dent in mine.
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Yes, I ended up loaning it to a teacher-writer colleague because I enjoyed it so much, but now I want it back!
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Ah yes, Alyosha…
For Ready Player One, I highly encourage you to listen to it, the audio is my most favorite audio ever, and I know I’m not alone in thinking this.
i started today publishing my recap/stats of the year: https://wordsandpeace.com/2017/12/29/year-of-reading-2017-my-top-12/
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I love reading these so much. I read Raisin in the Sun for the first time this year, too. Also, I saw the promo for Ready Player One so it’s a priority for me as well.
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Pingback: Year in Review: Reading in 2017 – Wild Places
Hi! Stopping by your blog by way of My Reader’s Block…
Wow! This was an incredible list. I’m taking in some of these book titles, considering some for my 2018 reading.
I’d be interested in the Austen in August event, if it will be happening again. It’s too bad I found your blog too late to participate in the Classic Book-a-Month club. It sounds like it would have been right up my (reading) alley… so I’ll just keep a watch in case it has a surprise comeback. 😉
Tarissa
http://inthebookcase.blogspot.com/
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Thanks for stopping by! CBAM probably won’t return, sadly, but Austen in August is highly likely to happen again… it will be the 6th or 7th year, and it is always great fun. Wildly popular. Are you a member of The Classics Club? If not, it seems like something you might be interested in: http://www.theclassicsclubblog.wordpress.com (Twitter @OurClassicsClub)
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Thanks! I’ve considered The Classics Club before, since so many other bloggers do it. Might have to check it out again. 🙂
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Okay, between you and Laura, I will be forced to read Gentleman’s Guide, just as soon as the Youth Media Awards are over! Because sheesh! It won both of your posts lol
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Oh, yes! It’s such a trip!
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