2017 has been a rather interesting year for me in all aspects. New job, changing dynamics with friends and family, parenting a pre-tween and such. My reading has also changed with the year.

Previously, I had set ideas on what I should be reading. In 2017, I drifted between books. I abandoned books without feeling guilty about it. I read a lot of great kid literature works. It has been a good reading year in general.

I read 98 books in 2017. Just shy of the century but I am not complaining.

New Authors

I tried new authors. It is always kind of scary to pick an unknown author. You never know if you will fall in love. I have been intrigued by the writings of Alejandro Zambra and Rachel Cusk this year. I look forward to reading more of their works in 2018.

Re-reads

Re-reads is always another grey area. Often, a book you thought was great the first time fails miserably the second time. It happened to me this year. Ferrante ended up a rather boring read this time around. Maybe because the kind of writing that intrigues me these days is very different from what I used to like. Similarly, I had loved The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Barbary Muriel. It urned out to be something I didn’t like the second time around.

Agatha Christie continued to hold me captive. Roald Dahl too.

I did it Reads

Finally, I can say I have read The Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth. Oh man! it has been on my TBR for too long. Same with The Hobbit.

Famous Books Read

I did read a bunch of books that have been critically acclaimed and deemed as must reads. Like, Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling, Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See and Ng’s Everything I Never Told You.

Big Read 2017

I got through The Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth. This title has been on my list forever and I am so glad I got it done. I understand why it is critically acclaimed but it left me just like I felt after I read Anna Karenina (my 2016 big read).

Kid Lit

Kid lit was a genre I read a lot in 2017. I gravitated to books my daughter had on her shelf and recommended to me. It was life altering. I discovered great books and great writers tackling complex themes. A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord was a clear favorite.

Definitely a great year of reading and I am looking forward to reading in 2018.