2018 Book Goals and 2017 Favorites

This one wouldn’t be upset by a little thunder. She would probably scare any storm that dared to cross her path. Rain could picture her out in the middle of a tornado, commanding it to depart, her hair wild and swirling as the wind obediently blew its way right out of her path.

*****

I haven’t quite finished the rough draft I’m working on, but I am getting near the end at a word count of 66K. I did stop and delete a bit when the story wasn’t unfolding to my liking. As I near the end of this draft, another story idea has popped into my head so I am sure there will be no lack of novels for me to write. I hope to get one or two of these polished up enough to pitch in 2018.

Have you made any goals for 2018?

My reading goal for the next year is to post a book review every Wednesday. My current TBR list leans towards contemporary, southern, and women’s fiction, with a few others thrown in but that’s not to say it won’t grow and change as the months roll by. There is always room for more books, and all bookworms know that the book list is never complete, right?

When I find a book I think people might like, I have to share. And on that note, if you have a book you absolutely love, tell me about it. I read several books a week, usually. Most of my favorite finds come from friends’ recommendations.

From the books I reviewed on my blog this year, I have listed a few notables. There were many more books that I never reviewed, but I restricted myself to only those I posted about in 2017.

Two books made the most impact on me, one was The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer. This is a classic that I don’t recall reading before, and the simple language spoke to me in a profound way. I consider it worth rereading every year.

Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done by Jon Acuff was an eye opener. One of the first things I did while reading this book was to cut my goals in half. I did this and my productivity has vastly improved with higher word counts than I was able to reach before. This nonfiction book is chock full of good advice. If you haven’t read it yet, grab yourself a copy for the upcoming year’s goal setting.

If I have to pick one novel I reviewed that I liked the best, it would be  A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. This book made me laugh and cry. Beautifully written characters and a heart-squeezing story. Loved it.

A new to me author who consistently delivers is Lisa Scottoline. While legal thrillers are not usually my first pick when I look for new reads, I enjoyed all of hers that I read. Every one I read was satisfying. It’s a rare author that can keep me coming back book after book. As much as I enjoy reading, I can be fickle and have a low tolerance for books that don’t grab me right away. I reviewed Damaged.

The best young adult I read this year was Free to Fall by Lauren Miller. Loved the premise, the characters, and the literary and Biblical allusions.

Lauren Graham’s memoir Talking As Fast As I Can was wonderful. If you are a Gilmore Girls fan you will probably like this small book.

One of the main reasons I read is for the comfort that a good story brings. I like action and mystery, but some days I simply want a good story. Books that fit into that slot for me were Like A Watered Garden by Patti Hill, an old favorite, and Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg, which I had not read or listened to before. I love that Fannie reads her own books. She has such a story teller’s gift.

I posted about a few shows and Netflix series, and the one I would like to mention is 13 Reasons Why. All the teens were watching this and talking about it. I also wrote a follow up post Talking With Your Teens about the series. The book was on my list, but I couldn’t bring myself to read it. I will probably try to get to it sometime this year.

So that’s my list for 2017. What were your favorite or most notable reads? Do you have any books you would like for me to review?

Wishing you a year blessed with many, many good books.

 

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