How many books did you read and did you meet or beat your own personal goal?
I read 173 books (plus 20 short stories/kids books I read to the boys or pre-read for Adrian for school). I always set my initial goal at 52, then double it. After I passed 104, I kept setting new goals that were prime numbers (since 2017 is a prime number) just above the number of books I have already read. I ended up setting my goal at 173 and had to cram in a lot of reading at the end of the year to meet it.
What story stayed with you a long time, left you wanting more or needing time to digest?
Aaru by David Meredith. The author actually contacted me on Twitter to ask me to read his book. I am so glad he did! I still think about the implications of being able to “save” someone to a hard drive so they never really die and all the questions that brings up (are they alive? what make you you?) sometimes and it’s been a few months since I read the book.
What are some quotes that made you laugh?
“I’m homeschooled,” Jameson observed. “Can I just give myself A’s too?” (Absolution by Karen McQuestion)
“If by that you mean that I dislike celebrity magazines, prefer food to anorexia, refuse to watch TV shows about models, and hate the color pink, then yes. I am proud to be not really a girl.” (Let it Snow by John Green)
I glanced at my mother and wondered if she recalled my exact age. (“You Look Like That Girl…” by Lisa Jakub
My favorite type of physical activity usually involved reading or watching a movie. The Black Masquerade by Andrea Pearson
Top 5 Books of the Year
Aaru by David Meredith
Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure by Matthew Algeo
The Only Witness by Pamela Beason
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
Upstairs at the White House by JB West
Bottom 5 Books of the Year
Zera and the Green Man by Sandra Knauf
Wulf the Saxon by GA Henty
Traditional Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens
God’s Battalions by Rodney Stark
Ultraviolet by RJ Anderson
How many books are in your To Read pile right now?
523
One of Shakespeare’s histories, 
Preston thinks he’s hiring a man to be his assistant, but, instead, Emma, the girl who completely broke his heart 15 years before, shows up. When she turns out to really know her stuff when it comes to training horses, he realizes he must learn to work with her, but the bigger question is, will he be able to forgive her and let his heart feel once again.
It is time for Lizzie to lead the effigy back to the manor in England causing the Hounds to be drawn to her. In between hunting Hounds, she has to worry about the Fire Vampires and the men in her life, too.
Conan, upon hearing that the Sauval have killed all but his last brother, sets out to seek revenge. In the process, he must defend his friend Anne’s Red Keep.
Jacob places an advertisement for a new wife and a mother for his children. Sarah responds that she will come for a month to see if she will fit their family.
In an effort to improve their PR, Crown Prince Arthur invites Royal Watchdog blogger, and harshest royal family critic, Tessa to stay at the palace for two months. Tessa soon finds out many of her assumptions were wrong, and Arthur discovers some of the many things the royal family is doing to make the citizens dislike them. And, of course, love blooms in there, too.
When a Weeble gives Nikki a magical treasure chest filled with special gloves, she becomes a superhero dedicated to combating evil in her little town of Cragglyville.
Mama Reader 