My Year in 2017: Reading Edition
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Every successful writer must be a reader first. For me, it was my love for reading books that inspired me to start writing.
Back in college, I lost touch with reading for fun. I graduated in 2015, but 2016 didn’t see a lot of reading because of my job. There were always specific book series I’d make sure to read the latest addition, but for the most part, I didn’t seek out new books.
That changed this year. With a new job, I had some downtime to actually read and since June when I started, I’ve read sixteen books, including a few series. Granted, five of my books were a part of one series I was rereading, but re-reading is good for you.
Given my spike in reading again, I wanted to break down some of my favorite reads, plus my thoughts on some interesting books.
1. Favorite Re-Read – Fox & O’Hare Series
The Fox & O’Hare books are a series of five books by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg. These books are fun reads that make me laugh – and that’s what I love about reading. Reading books that make you laugh but keep you on your seat at the same time are my favorite. I want my mystery novels to have a little bit of humor in them, too.
2. Favorite Stand Alone – Big Little Lies
I started reading this book as I watched the miniseries, and I was totally blown away by how honest the adaptation stayed to the book. The book was smart, witty, and had plenty of dark humor – which is my favorite kind of humor. Now that they’ve announced a second season of the show, I’m curious about how they’ll extend this story because I felt the ending was pretty close to perfect.
Honorable Mention for Stand-Alone: The Girl on the Train
3. Favorite New Series – In Death
This series is one that I just started over Thanksigiving break. Written by Nora Roberts (using the pen name J.D. Robb), these futuristic stories of a cop in New York are addicting. I’m currently on the third book in a series that has more than 40 titles to it. I’m hoping that next year, I’ll be able to get through most of these books. I’ve done a little bit of research from what people think of the newer titles, and these books seem to hold up over the series – which is a refreshing thing.
Honorable Mention for Favorite Series: Eat, Pray, Die Series
4. Favorite Non-Fiction – Settle for More
This memoir from NBC News’ Megyn Kelly was written last year when she was still at Fox News. Regardless of politics, I’ve always found her a little fascinating, so to read her book was an interesting look at her life – including a little bit about her experience dealing with sexual harassment. Even though this was written before the shift in the narrative, it feels very timely given everything we’ve learned this year about some pretty powerful men in the world.
While I fell back in love with reading this year, I’m hoping to read even more next year. Right now I mostly read at work, but I’m working on getting into the habit of reading before bed again, so there’ll be more books to finish!
What were your favorite books this year?