#MustReadIn2017


Carrie Gelson at There's a Book for That, hosts #MustReadIn2017. 

If you have a want to read list on Goodreads (or somewhere else) that goes on forever, then you might be interested in joining in. All you have to do is choose any number of specific books on that list, and do your best to read them all. It is completely understood that in this year, you will read many more books than these.

In 2016 I picked 36 books and managed to finish them all. I assume that since 36 is a such a special number, I could count on its mathematical magic and choose 36 books again this year.

It wasn't easy.

Now that I no longer have a library budget I am dependent on my local public library to fuel my reading life. I had a list I thought was good, but then I checked to see if they were available at my library of choice, only to discover that some of them were not even published and others were not available. I sure wish I could integrate goodreads with the VPL and know instantly if a book is available or not!

I went back to my list of over 1200 unread books on Goodreads. I discovered books that I had read but not recorded. I removed some from the list (I seriously need to do more weeding since I no longer need to read so much children's fiction)

My list burgeoned up to another long list of 75, considerably over my planned goal, so I started pruning all over again.

I've done my best to winnow that list down to 36. I took 12 that were nonfiction and created a 2017 Non Fiction Must Read list. That leaves me with one information book to read a month. I should be able to handle that! It might be cheating, but I hope it works. All of the books that made it on my list are novels. Some are best read by adults and others are for readers just starting chapter books. A few are graphic. Many of them are books I have on my shelves and need to just get to. A few are classics that I have been meaning to read. Others are books recently published that I am counting on the VPL purchasing. Then there are others that are to be published this year some time. i'm keeping my fingers crossed. 

I hope I don't have to purchase too many of them on my own.

#MustReadIn2017  



A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold
The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club by Phillip M. Hoose
Counting Thyme by Melanie Conklin
Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2) by Leigh Bardugo
Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien
The Empty Grave (Lockwood & Co. #5) by Jonathan Stroud
Falling Over Sideways by Jordan Sonnenblick
Finding Perfect by Elly Swartz
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
Going Places by Ellen Potter
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera
Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate
House of Purple Cedar by Tim Tingle
I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo
Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
Last Night I Sang to the Monster by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Lost Girl Found by Laura DeLuca
Moon Shadow by Erin Downing
Murder, Magic, and What We Wore by Kelly Jones
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Odin's Ravens (The Blackwell Pages, #2) by K.L. Armstrong,
The Peculiar Haunting of Thelma Bee by Erin Petti
Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return (Persepolis, #2) by Marjane Satrapi
The Reader (Sea of Ink and Gold, #1) by Traci Chee
Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley
Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles by Shari Green
Ryan Quinn and the Rebel's Escape (Ryan Quinn #1) by Ron McGee
Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks
Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard (Peter Nimble, #2) by Jonathan Auxier
The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
A Tale Dark & Grimm (A Tale Dark & Grimm, #1) by Adam Gidwitz,
Tales from the Arabian Nights: Stories of Adventure, Magic, Love, and Betrayal by Donna Jo Napoli
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

#MustReadNFIn2017




At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson
The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum by Temple Grandin
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909 by Michelle Markel
The Empathic Civilization: The Race To Global Consciousness In A World In Crisis by Jeremy Rifkin
The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King
One in Every Crowd by Ivan E. Coyote
Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor's Story by Caren Stelson
Spin: How Politics Has the Power to Turn Marketing on Its Head by Clive Veroni
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi


Canada celebrates 150 years of colonization this year. I'm contemplating another reading challenge to commemorate this by reading 150 titles by indigenous authors. I'm not sure I can accomplish this, but I'm going to try to read as many as I can.

15 comments:

  1. I love that you have a nonfiction list too!

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    1. Now that I am retired, I've discovered how much I love reading nonfiction. I think work was enough nonfiction before this.

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  2. I didn't realize there was going to be another Piper Green book soon. That is a great series. I want to move to that charming little island! Save Me a Seat was one of my favorite books from last year. Many others on your lists look interesting.

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    1. I know Lisa. Isn't it exciting! I just adore that character.

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  3. I love that you have both fiction and nonfiction lists! (Guilty confession: I stuck with only fiction....Maybe next year I'll branch out?) Katherine Applegate's Home of the Brave is one of my absolute favorite novels in verse--it's a beautiful read that I've been book talking repeatedly to teachers and students. The Sun is Also a Star was my first read of 2017 and it's going to be hard to top--it's one of the best YA novels I've read in a really long time. You have many on here I haven't read or heard of yet--I'll definitely have to check some of them out. Great lists--good luck tackling them this year! :)

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    1. I admit that two lists of smaller numbers felt less onerous than one larger one! I'm glad to read that I have so many good reads to look forward to!

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  4. I loved hearing the process, Cheriee, and wish you lived down the block so we could trade! There are a few from your list I will add to a second list which I've started because everyone has still another book I want to remember. If I can recommend any, it would be The Boys Who Challenged Hitler that I loved. Happy Reading!

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    1. I wish we did too. You could give me advice on grandparenting!

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  5. I probably need to purge my Goodreads list too! Reading these lists is so damaging to my bank account. Our library seems to lag behind my "want to read" list. You have many great titles and several that I have added to a second list.

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    1. It's probably good that my library is a bit behind my desire or I would be even more overwhelmed than I now am.

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  6. That's amazing that you got through your whole 2016 list!! I had 35 on mine and only managed to read half. My favs on your list: The Boys Who Challenged Hitler, Night Circus, Relish, Save Me a Seat (the audio was great), Bird by Bird, and Still Alice (which is actually fiction - the movie is great too). I want to read When Breath Becomes Air, too! I should've put it on my list, darn it!

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    1. Maybe I can switch Still Alice with Relish? I'm looking forward to a great year too.

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  7. What wonderful lists! A new Piper Green? Love these titles. Counting Thyme is so so very wonderful. Enjoy!

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    1. I know! I adore Piper Green. The cover isn't even picked yet.

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  8. I want to read Short. There are many of my favorites on your list like The Hate U Give, The Sun is Also a Star, Relish, and more. I think you'll have a good year of reading. :)

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