Books of 2017

Got some good reading in this year :) Read lots of plays and classical novels for school (which I enjoyed), but I still got to enjoy some for-fun fiction as well :) Also read some good fanfics, one of which was one I read throughout the year as the lady updated it :) It was very good, especially as a religious person and Destiel shipper like myself <3 p="">
How many books read in 2017: 
A little over 60 books, plays, and short stories.

How many fiction and non fiction?: 
Mostly fiction 


Male/Female author ratio?: 
Uhhhh, not sure? Probably male if we take into account all my school reading.


Favorite book of 2017?: 
Star Wars comics (Clone Wars, Knights of the Old Republic) 
Trials of Apollo: The Dark Prophecy 
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Hammer of Thor 
Allegiance
Rebel Force: Renegade 
Cress 
King Henry IV
Hamlet
Julius Caesar 
Antigone 
Medea
Phedre 
Cat's Cradle
Richard III 
The Merchant of Venice
Psuedolus
King Lear
Joseph Andrews
Rasselas
Atsumori
The Little Clay Cart

Fuenteovejuna

Least favorite?:
It was a re-read, but I can't stand "Boys and Girls" (a short story) by Alice Murno. I didn't hate anything else I read, but "The Midwives Book" was hard to get through, Doctor Faustus wasn't the greatest, and "The Rover" was a bit creepy. I was also disappointed with Malinda Lo's "Huntress." The world building was really cool, but the romances were too rushed, the characters were flat, and she did WAY too much POV changes (in mid sentence. NO NO NO). If anyone knows of any well written F/F stories, I'd love to hear them since I feel I don't read enough (and I should read an equal amount of stories with F/F, M/F, and M/M in order to be fair). 


Newest?: 
Trials of Apollo: The Dark Prophecy is the one I'd say is the newest


Longest and shortest book titles?:
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Hammer of Thor was the longest
Trifles was probably the shortest 




Longest and shortest books?: 
A good number were long- The Magnus Chase book, Mansfield Park, Robinson Crusoe, The Midwives Book, etc. 
The shortest were the short stories, such as "Araby" and "The Story of an Hour." I also read a lot of poems.


How many books from the library?: 
A good chunk were from the library, but I also read a good deal of books that I own too.



Any translated books?:
YES :D
Antigone by Sophocles - from Greek
Medea by Euripides - from Greek
Pseudolus by Plautus - from Latin
Atsumori by Zeami - from Japanese
The Little Clay Cart by Shudraka - from Sanskrit and Pakrit 
Death in Venice by Thomas Mann - from German

Fuenteovejuna by Lope de Vega - from Spanish 

Phedre by Jean Racine - from French 

Most read author of the year, and how many books by that author?: 
I don't have any author I read a bunch from.


Any re-reads?: 
Yes! 
I re-read "A Doll's House" and "Boys and Girls" for my Literature class :)


Favorite character of the year?
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Luke Skywalker
Leia Organa
Han Solo
Apollo
Magnus Chase
Alex Fierro
Samirah al-Abbas
Blitzen
Hearthstone
Mara Jade Skywalker <3 p="">Cress
Thorne
Westmoreland
King Henry IV
Hamlet
Brutus
Prince Hal
Falstaff
Antigone
etc




Which countries did you go to through the page in your year of reading?:
England, Greece, Italy/Rome, Japan, India, Spain, and many fantasy worlds/other planets.

Which book wouldn't you have read without someone’s specific recommendation? 
Hmmmm.....
Joseph Andrews (which was hilarious, you should read it!)
The History of Rasselas Prince of Abbissinia 
Cat's Cradle (Dean Winhester recommended it ;) )
Pseudolus 
a lot of the plays I read to be honest (I wouldn't have known about them otherwise 
The Birds short story 
An Essay on Man 
The Rape of the Lock
Songs of Innocene and Experience
The Midwives Book
Her Own Life
The Desk Set (I was IN this play) :)


Which author was new to you in 2017 that you now want to read the entire works of?

I want to read more Greek tragedies :) I've read some Sophocles and Euripides, so I want to read more of their work, as well as some work by Aeschylus. I also want to read more Shakespeare. 

Which books are you annoyed you didn't read?:
The Iliad (I DID get farther in it)
The Shadow of the Hegemon (which I have started!)
I wanted to finish the Rebel Force series but I did get further in it
Morning is A Long Time Coming
The Winter's Tale
Measure for Measure
Don Juan
Slaughterhouse-Five 
Defy the Stars
The Winner's Curse
Made of Stars 
Dark Space 
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Ship of the Dead 



Did you read any books you have always been meaning to read?
YES YES YES
Scarlet 
Cress
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Hammer of Thor 
The Trials of Apollo: The Dark Prophecy
I read several Star Wars comics (Clone Wars and Knights of the Old Republic) 
Allegiance
Rebel Force: Renegade 
I've been wanting to read more Jane Austen novels for a while, and I read "Mansfield Park" for class :)
Robinson Crusoe (FINALLY, been wanting to read this since I was a tween)
Gulliver's Travels (I wanted to read the original version since I read an abridged version as a kid)
Death in Venice
Huntress (I have been trying to read this for like three years and finally got around to it!)
Hamlet
King Henry IV (I WAS IN THIS PLAY :D)
The Comedy of Errors 
The Taming of the Shrew
The Merchant of Venice
Richard III 
Julius Caesar 
King Lear 
I always meant to read Greek and Roman plays, and I did :) (Antigone, Medea, and Psuedolus) 
Mary's Little Donkey (an Advent reading we never were able to finish until this year)
Cat's Cradle 



What books are you planning to read in 2017?
The Iliad
Made of Stars
Shadow of the Hegemon
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Ship of the Dead (I have it right now!)
Trials of Apollo: The Burning Maze
More Than This
Defy the Stars
The Winner's Curse
Slaughterhouse-Five
Maurice
Star Wars Republic and Clone Wars comics
Knights of the Old Republic comics
Finish the Rebel Force series
Freedom
The Summer I Wasn't Me
Morning is a Long Time Coming
The Torchkeeper series: The Raising
Galaxy of Fear series
Choices of One
Shadow of the Empire
basically ALL THE STAR WARS
Beren and Luthien
Emma
Sense and Sensibility
David Copperfield
Oliver Twist
Brandon Sanderson fantasy novels
Read the next books in the Angelfall series
Juliet Immortal
6 Seconds to Life
Gone Gone Gone
Shadow on the Crown
Dark Space
A Winter's Tale
Measure for Measure
Twelfth Night
A Midsummer's Night Dream
Hippolytus 
Oedipus Rex 
Oedipus at Colonus 
Alcestis 
anything by Aeschylus 
More Shakespeare plays in general 
Chemistry 
Jurassic Park

Books of 2015

I made my boyfriend read with me XD Hehehe (isn't he cute? XD) 

How many books read in 2015: 
Not sure. Around 30- 100,  I guess? (I'm in college so I don't read as much)


How many fiction and non fiction?: 
mostly fiction


Male/Female author ratio?: 
About the same, as always.



Favorite book of 2015?: 
In order that I read them
The Torch Keeper: The Sowing (excellent plot twists, good characters and story, nice bit of diversity, an actually good dystopian world). 
Lost Tribe of the Sith short stories (very well-written, fun to read, great characters, very seamless)
Seraphina (fun fantasy novel, awesome usage of dragons, very creative history, good setting, loved the musical aspect)
The Children of Hurin (I love Middle Earth, so it was nice to be back in that world.)
Cinder (I've always liked Cinderella and this sci-fi version of it was a lot of fun to read. The main characters were also quite enjoyable and I loved how tomboyish Cinder was).
Elantris (AMAZING fantasy story, great characters, nice feminist messages that aren't overbearing, the whole 'villain/anti-hero is in love with the hero' was in it and it was utilized perfectly (he actually helped her!), the world building was fantastic, it was SO GOOD. Seriously, READ IT).
The Raven Cycle ( OH MY GOSH, THIS SERIES IS AMAZING!!! READ IT! Lovely characters, writing, nice diversity, actual well-written romance, good focus on friendships, loved that the adults ACTUALLY did stuff, etc)
Tales of the Jedi Omnibus part 1 (AMAZING! Especially the Nomi Sunrider chapter!)
Avatar: The Last Airbender comics (read "The Rift" parts) (lots of fun as always! :D) 
The Old Republic:Annihilation (hilarious, fun, funny, loved how the main characters saved the day in their underwear XD)
and Paradise Lose/Paradise Regained was a good, if difficult, read as was "The Art of War" 


Least favorite?:
"The Secret" and "The Magic of Thinking-Big" which I was forced to read by this jerk :P Stupid, worthless crap. Ghost Rider wasn't the greatest either but it wasn't terrible. 

Newest?: 
Not sure..."Blue Lily, Lily Blue" or The Old Republic: Annihilation, perhaps?


Longest and shortest book titles?:
The Old Republic: Annihilation for longest
Cinder for shortest

Longest and shortest books?: 
Elantris was probably the longest
The shortest was the short story "Precipice"


How many books from the library?: 
Most were from the library



Any translated books?:
The Art of War



Most read author of the year, and how many books by that author?: 
John Jackson Miller since I read all the Lost Tribe of the Sith shorts. I also read a lot from Maggie Stiefvater 



Any re-reads?: 
No :( 


Favorite character of the year?
The leads in The Raven Cycle- they were all really awesome and likable (even with their flaws)
Hrathen, Sarene, and Raoden from Elantris 
Seraphina 
Cinder
Lucky Spark (he was SO good in the The Sowing)
The various characters in Lost Tribe of the Sith
Nomi Sunrider (AHHH!!!!!!)
Theron Shan (he cracked me up so much)
Gnost-Dural
Satele Shan




Which countries did you go to through the page in your year of reading?:
All over America, China,  Middle Earth, various planets in Star Wars, and Elantris.

Which book wouldn't you have read without someone’s specific recommendation? 
I wouldn't have read those crappy books, I wouldn't have read the books for school, and I guess The Raven Cycle and Cinder. 


Which author was new to you in 2015 that you now want to read the entire works of?
 Maggie Stiefvater! :D 


Which books are you annoyed you didn't read?:
I'm annoyed that I haven't finished 'Fangirl' yet, or "Heir to the Empire" (both of which I am currently on). Also wish I could have gotten to the Ender's Shadow series, gotten further in The Lunar Chronicles, and read more Star Wars books. I also started "The Iliad" and I hope to finish that.


Did you read any books you have always been meaning to read?
YES
Paradise Lost/Paradise Regained
Elantris 
The Children of Hurin
A Hobbit Journey: Discovering the Enchantments of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth (FINALLY)
A New Hope novelization
Lost Tribe of the Sith 
Death Star
Seraphina
Tales of the Jedi (part 1 of the Omnibus) 
The Art of War
On Writing Well
The Old Republic: Annihilation 
Childhood's End


What books are you planning to read in 2016?
I want to finish "Fangirl", "Heir to the Empire", and "Half-Bad"
Clariel 
Shadow Games
More Star Wars books and comics
Freedom
The Summer I Wasn't Me
Morning Is A Long Time Coming
The Raven King (CAN'T WAIT)
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer
The last Torchkeeper book if it comes out
The next 'Senet' based novels
The Hidden Oracle (Trials of Apollo) 
The rest of the Lunar Chronicles
Scarlet
The Iliad (which I've started) and maybe even The Odyssey Ender's Shadow series
Fan Art
Scoundrels
The Crown of Ptolemy 
Emma
Persuasion
Sense and Sensibility 
Death in Venice
Maurice
Oliver Twist
David Copperfield
The Scarlet Letter
Also, I want to read more science fiction novels in general 

Books of 2014

Armin being a good boy and reading a book! :) (this is me! :) ) 

How many books read in 2014: 
Around 100, I think. I read a lot in the first half of the year, but when college started, I was hardly able to read much at all(besides textbooks). 


How many fiction and non fiction?: 
mostly fiction


Male/Female author ratio?: 
About the same, as always.



Favorite book of 2014?: 
Not in any particular order
The Lion and the Rose/The Serpent and the Pearl - loved these historical fiction novels. I hadn't known anything about the Borgia family and getting to read about all of that was really interesting. The three narrators- Giulia, Leonello, and Carmelina- were all very interesting and multifaceted and I loved hearing their stories. The writing style was also lovely and extremely readable.  
Lion of Senet - this was definitely an awesome fantasy series. There is so little high fantasy, so this was definitely a nice read. While not as good as the Middle Earth books, of course, it is definitely one of the better fantasy books I've read. Looking forward to finishing the trilogy(just wish it had been a little cleaner). 
The Blood of Olympus - great end to an awesome series. Enough said. 
Calling Me Home - this was a lovely historical and contemporary fiction novel. Lovely writing with a story that explores racism and interracial relationships very well. 
Code Name Verity - AWESOME historical fiction story about two women who served in the British army in WWII. LOVED it. 
The Culling - while dystopians have definitely gotten old to me, this book really did well with the genre. It was brutal and depressing, but it never went into the existentialism that annoys me, nor did it get really weird(like Divergent). Also, it had a gay protagonist(and is written by a gay author) which was really nice to see(representation matters!) . 
Great Expectations - While I don't like Charles Dickens as much as Victor Hugo, this was a great novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Avatar: The Last Airbender comics - I have adored ATLA for a long time, so getting to continue the story has been awesome.
Attack on Titan manga - I watched season 1 of this awesome show earlier this year and once that was over, I dove into the manga. The manga has been amazing and I can't wait to see these stories in season 2! :D
Fruits Basket manga - FINALLY FINISHED THIS! :D Sat down and finished it earlier this year, which was such a good thing, since it was a lovely, beautiful story, with a perfect ending. :)
The Staff of Serapis/The Son of Sobek - awesome crossovers between the Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus books and the Kane Chronicles. Both were awesome and fun reads and I can't wait for the last one! :)
Frankenstein - it was really interesting finally reading this classic. I could tell it was a first novel, but still, a good read.
Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void - really cool to read a story taking place back at the very beginning of the Jedi Order(really want to read the Dawn of the Jedi comics now!).
Children of the Mind - solid end to the books about Ender.
The Handmaid's Tale - eerie tale about a patriarchal dystopia.



Least favorite?:
The Perks of Being A Wallflower - sorry for the curse words, BUT THIS BOOK WAS COMPLETE SHIT! Seriously, Charlie is NOT a wallflower- I've been one and I know what it's like. And being best buds with the seniors and getting invited to parties and having two older girls interested in you does not a wallflower make. In fact, he seemed very popular to me in the novel. Plus, the book just glosses over a ton of issues without handing them with any sort of respect, which is just rude. And, for some reason, even though Charlie was molested by his aunt, he just seems to get over it and 'forgive her'. Sorry, but if that were me, I would have punched her in the face/beaten her up or, since she was dead, go and piss on her grave or something. I would have NEVER forgiven her. Monsters like that don't deserve forgiveness. (rape trigger warning) Heck, there was even a rape scene that was just written so crassly I literally threw the book down and yelled "why would you write that?". Besides the terrible handling of subject matter, the overall story was just dumb and the writing amateurish. Utterly pathetic. 
The Catcher in the Rye - this book was just a bunch of whining from a big baby with an annoying existentialism world-view. It did get better towards the end, but Holden was just a sexist, whinny jerk, who doesn't deserve the opportunities he was given. 
The Fault in Our Stars - not terrible, but not impressive in the slightest. A lot of people found it to be sad and tear-inducing, but I just found it bland, the characters unsympathetic and unreal, and the language just....weird. I mean, I felt much more sad when that random character in Attack on Titan shot themselves to avoid being killed by the Titans than I did for these characters. 



Newest?: 
The Blood of Olympus! :) 


Longest and shortest book titles? Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe and Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void for longest
Beowulf(abridged) for shortest

Longest and shortest books?: 
Longest would probably be The Immortal Prince and Great Expectations
Shortest would be the two short stories The Son of Sobek and The Staff of Serapis


How many books from the library?: 
Most were from the library



Any translated books?:
Attack on Titan mangas and Fruits Basket mangas



Most read author of the year, and how many books by that author?: 
I read a lot of authors. Maybe the authors of the Attack on Titan mangas and the Fruits Basket mangas. 



Any re-reads?: 
Not that I can remember. I do want to re-read the Lord of the Rings books, as well as The Hobbit and The Silmarillion again. Also, I definitely want to re-read the Star Wars books by Jude Watson. 


Favorite character of the year?
Hmmm...good question
Armin Arlert
All the Attack on Titan characters, basically
Percy Jackson
Annabeth Chase
Nico di Angelo
Hazel Levesque
Jason Grace
Reyna Avila Ramirez Arellano
Frank Zhang
Piper McLean
Leo Valdez
Will Solace
Zuko
Katara
Toph
Sokka
Aang
Azula
Tohru Honda
Yuki Sohma
Kyo Sohma
Giulia Farnese 
Leonello 
Carmelina 
Ender Wiggins
Wang-Mu 
Julia/Julie(Code Name Verity)
Maddie(Code Name Verity)
Isabella (Calling Me Home)
Robert (Calling Me Home)





Which countries did you go to through the page in your year of reading?:
Japan, Germany, France, England, Switzerland, Australia, Scotland, and many fantasy/science fiction worlds. 

Which book wouldn't you have read without someone’s specific recommendation? 
Code Name Verity
Amazing Agent Jennifer(manga/comic)
The Fault In Our Stars
The Lion of Senet
Giulia Farnese duology
Calling Me Home
Attack on Titan(same goes for the show)






Which author was new to you in 2014 that you now want to read the entire works of?
Elizabeth Wein - her book Code Name Verity was fantastic and I want to see more of her writing.
Kate Quinn - I just love her writing style and the way she crafts her characters. 


Which books are you annoyed you didn't read?:
Paradise Lost/Paradise Regained(which I'm currently on)
The Children of Hurin(which I have from the library)
A Hobbit Journey (which I also have right now)
the rest of the Star Wars books I haven't gotten to
various classics
The Ender Shadow books


Did you read any books you have always been meaning to read?
YES! :D
Frankenstein
The Catcher in the Rye
The Great Gatsby
Great Expectations 
finally finished the Fruits Basket mangas(LOVED THE STORY!) 
Star Wars books(The Dark Forces books, Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void, Death Troopers, Red Harvest, The Force Unleashed 2, )
The Children of the Mind 
Ender in Exile
Avatar: The Last Airbender comics(haven't read them all yet, but I've read several arcs)
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
The Blood of Olympus
The Handmaid's Tale
The Dragon Rider's of Pern: Dragonflight 
The Perks of Being a Wallflower

What books are you planning to read in 2015?
I want to finish Paradise Lost/Paradise Regained
A Hobbit Journey
The Children of Hurin
Death Star
A New Hope novelization
Scoundrals
The Thrawn Trilogy
the rest of the Star Wars books I haven't gotten to yet
Star Wars comic books
The Torch Keeper: The Sowing
The Crown of Ptolemy 
Fangirl
The Mote in God's Eye
The Iliad/The Odyssey 
Emma
Persuasion
Sense and Sensibility
Freedom 
Death in Venice 
Oliver Twist
David Copperfield
Morning is a Long Time Coming
The Scarlet Letter
the next Lion of Senet books
The Summer I Wasn't Me
and science fiction/fantasy books 
(check my goodreads account for my complete to-read list) 

Also, I may try this! :)