2017 Reading Challenge: Final Roundup

Now that 2017 has finished, I thought I'd update how I went with my reading challenge. Did I read 52 books in 2017? Well, that was never in any doubt of being achieved. Did I complete the challenge, though?

By my count I read at least 60 books in the course of completing the challenge, some to complete the category of reading a series, and some which I read for a category but then found didn't quite fit, and some books led me to read sequels. And at least 49 of these 60 books were new for me. However, I did not find and read a book for every category.

In my last post about the challenge, I had achieved 75% of the list. Here is the full challenge list with all the categories I completed, a total of 88%.

Now, some categories I simply didn't get around to - I had a book in mind for the epic poem category, but didn't get hold of it for a variety of reasons. I had trouble finding a book set in my hometown and the place where I live, and didn't really want to widen the idea of region too far, so I have left these to be completed once I find appropriate titles.

Some books I read intending them to be for a particular category, only to realise they didn't fit there, and so needed to be reallocated or left off the reading challenge list, such as the first book I read for the category of a book written by someone who isn't a writer.

Things I enjoyed

1. Finding new authors - at least 30! Some I had been meaning to get around to eventually, and many I'd never heard of before starting the challenge.
2. Being pushed to try different genres - it has been a long time since I read any plays, or sets of short stories, or books that I expected to be scary, or much non fiction. And some of them I enjoyed much more than I thought I would!
3. Reading books from many different countries, and some which had been written originally in another language.
4. Exploring the books on my bookshelf with different eyes, remembering books I had bought years ago and never gotten around to reading, and adding them to my pile of books to read sooner rather than later.
5. Finding a book (which even had a sequel) whose main character had my name. The only other time I've seen my name in a novel was in Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody, when it was the name of a dog.

Books I loved and recommend for you

• A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth (a book with over 500 pages). Set in India in the middle of the 20th century. Just wonderful!
• Villette by Charlotte Bronté (a book published over 100 years ago). Set mainly in France (early chapters are in England) in the 19th century. Fascinating characters, good character development, and complicated relationships.
• The Corinth Letters by Ben Chenoweth (a book with a place in the title). Set in Greece in the 1st and 21st centuries, a glimpse into archaeology with historical fiction intertwined.
• The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie (a famous author's first novel). Set in the UK in the early 20th century. Meet Hercule Poirot in his first story (though most definitely not his first case). Though I've yet to read one of her books which I wouldn't recommend!

Have you read something you loved in 2017? I'd love to hear about your reading adventures!