2017 Blog Goals

For the past several years, I have laid out some goals specific to the blog and my reading. Doing this has really helped keep me focused and I am so proud of the direction of things over these past couple years. The blog feels more intentional, less sporadic and random. So, in keeping with the spirit, I want to set some goals for the upcoming year. After the international dumpster fire that was 2016, I think we're all ready for a fresh start and some positive things to work toward. I know I am.

Before I do that, though, I want to take a minute and reflect on the goals I set forth for 2016 and see how those played out. 

Let's Talk About... Everyday Heroes

Let's Talk About... is a chance for us to talk about anything and everything. It's a way for me to get some of what I am thinking and feeling out onto the page and to engage in real, honest discussion about it with you. I hope these posts can be fun, interesting, educational, and, more than anything, a chance to learn from each other. 

As I mentioned when I introduced these posts last year, they are going to crop up randomly. Whenever I get to thinking about something and want a way to talk about it on a bigger scale, here I'll be. I did not anticipate having another one so quickly into the New Year, yet here we are. I suppose it makes sense. The transition from December to January is often a time that gets people thinking and contemplating - myself included.

Let me preface this a bit. On New Years' Day, we had the evening to ourselves for the first time since before the holidays. We (I) had hoped to watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but that didn't work out, so we landed on Sully. We're big Tom Hanks fans and hadn't seen this latest work of his yet. If you aren't familiar with it, it's the movie about Chesley Sullenberger, the pilot who successfully landed a passenger jet in the Hudson River. As we watched, I could not help but think we had unwittingly landed on the perfect movie to start 2017. Because, really, the movie is all about everyday heroes.

2016 Chapter

Happy New Year!

And good riddance, 2016!

A new year comes with new challenges and new gifts. I hope this one is off to a great start for you already. Maybe you've even had time to pick up a new book?

This week on the blog is all about reflection: reflecting on the year(s) behind us and reflecting on what the new year may bring.

This year, in particular, I am so thankful for my fellow book bloggers. I have been more engaged with the online community and it has truly been a refuge for me this year. So, to all you online friends - thank you for who you are and for putting yourself and your thoughts out there in the world. I treasure my small place in this world. Thank you for welcoming me into it.

Today, as I do every year, I am looking back at the previous year and the bookish things accomplished therein. It's been an exciting year on the blog, if not in the world. Here are a few highlights:

• I read 136 books! A new record!
• Readership took a major spike this year. (46,000 compared to ~26,000 the last two years). This has been a pleasant surprise as I have done very little to actively seek readership. I'm thankful for every reader!
• As of now, I have completed 80% of the 100 Best Novels challenge. I worked so hard on the challenge this year, reading over 30 books for it. 2017 is going to be the year I finish!
• I continued to grow the Read.Write.Repeat. Facebook presence and gotten much more active in the book blogging community on Twitter. Like or follow if you haven't already! 
• I continued the monthly "chapter" posts and some off and on Movie Mondays as well as starting a brand new feature, Let's Talk About... This is the first non-book-centric post I have ever done here and it had a great reception. I'm looking forward to doing more of these in the coming year.
• I started offering personalized book recommendations. Take a quick survey, and I'll send you a unique list of books I think you'll enjoy. I've been doing this for friends and family for years, so it made logical sense to start doing it for others as well. I wasn't sure how this would go, but, thus far, I think it's been a big success. I've done about 20 individual lists and have gotten a great response. I firmly believe that getting people reading is all about finding the right books for them. Anything I can do to facilitate that process is a joy and pleasure for me.
  

December 2016 Chapter

Welcome to the Read.Write.Repeat. monthly wrap-up.  Every month, I give a quick overview of what books I read, the progress made on the 100 Best Novels goal, a few book-related links, and general blog news.  

December News 

While I cannot say I have felt especially festive this holiday season, it sure has been nice to start looking ahead to 2017. A new year always feels so hopeful, so fresh, so full of possibility. Starting next week, we begin again.

Before we do that though, here's one final monthly wrap-up. I'll be looking back on 2016 as a whole on Monday, but today is about December. I anticipate finishing another book or two today or tomorrow, so I'll update as I do.

In my book-ish world, it was a good month. I started a new series: Let's Talk About... and it's already off to an incredible start. I got a great response and record hits talking about the Gilmore Girls reboot. If you haven't read it and are a Gilmore fan, you totally should. I'm looking forward to continuing that series in the new year with a diversity of topics. It was nice to start with a fun one, because I'm sure we'll have some serious stuff to discuss in the new year.

I also participated in #TBTBSanta for the third year in a row this month. I love this event. Thanks so much to Jamie for putting it all together. I had an absolute blast putting together a package for Allison over at Aliza Shandel. I also was thrilled to get my package from Monica at Newbery and Beyond. She got my Half the Sky, which you know I think everyone in the world should read, and The Gammage Cup, which is a book I've been hunting for ever since I was a child. Also, she's doing the coolest challenge on her blog - reading through all the Newbery winners and Newbery Honor books. Both Allison and Monica have a new follower, fan, and friend in me. That's the real beauty of this Secret Santa exchange. I'm looking forward to joining the #otspsecretsister exchange in the new year to spread that same love and excitement throughout the year.

I really enjoyed getting back into reading this month, too. After the insanity of NaNoWriMo and final grading, it felt so good and cathartic to fall back into fiction for escape. I am so thankful for a way to clear my head and focus on something outside of myself even for small chunks at a time. I cleaned out my TBR this month and doing so got me really excited for the books I will read in 2017. I know there will be some amazing ones and I cannot wait to experience them.

For now, though, let's take a look back at this final month of 2016...

Best Books of 2016

If you are a long-time reader, you know I have done a post like this the past four years. It is one of my favorite posts of the whole year. You can find the 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 versions in the archives (or by following the links).

A note of procedure, I only ever select new reads for this post. I love rereading books and I have done more of it in the past couple years, but so often I reread books because I love them. It doesn't feel fair to include them in these "awards" because they've already made enough of an impression on me to be reread.

The Ambassadors - Henry James

The Ambassadors

Title: The Ambassadors

Author: Henry James

Publication Date: 1903

Pages: 528

Genre: Classic / Historical / Fiction 

How I Found It: 100 Best Novels

Date Completed: 12/20/16

Summary: Strether, an American widower, is engaged to Chad's mom. Chad's mom is not happy about the carousing her son is doing in Paris, so she sends Strether to bring him home. Turns out, Strether likes Paris and the lifestyle there.

What I Thought: Back when I read The Wings of the Dove, my first James novel, I marveled at how an interesting plot could come across so dry. I hoped it was a fluke. Then, I read The Golden Bowl and experienced the same befuddlement. In that second review, I labeled his work "wanting." Here now, we arrive at the third and final of James' work on the Modern Library list. Could it do what the others could not? Did it capture me?

In short, no. 

Merry Christmas!

What a year. I've never been more thankful to end the year with a celebration and time of hope. Even in the darkest world, there is hope and love.

I hope that you are blessed with a relaxing day with family and friends. May the season truly be merry and bright for you.

I hope you find some great books under the tree with your name on them. We could all use the escape and the education after this year.

I hope not only Christmas, but 2017 as a whole finds you warm, well-fed, healthy, and safe this Christmas. So many people around the world, and within our own country, cannot claim those adjectives as their own. Take time to remember them this year and to help if you can. 

Most of all, I hope that this Christmas will be full of love for you. Not only the love of those around you, but also the love of God. After all, His love is what the celebration is all about. God loved us so much that He sent the most precious gift we could ever dream of: redemption through His Son. If you want to know more about that gift, please let me know! I would love to share with you about what Christmas means to me. 

Merry Christmas to all!