January 2017 TBR

Jen

I’m always so excited when a new year of reading begins! As usual I have way too many books I want to read and I just can’t get to them all. There are also multiple series that I want to start but I don’t want to be reading too many at once! I’m such a mood reader that I often deviate from my TBR so for that reason I’m not going to set strict TBR lists in 2017. Instead I’ll just list the books that I most feel like reading at the time so that it can be more of a guide that I can refer back to if I can’t decide which book to read next.

The entire month of January is the tennis season here in Australia, so quite a lot of my time will be taken up by that, leaving little time for reading. I know that I more than likely won’t be getting to all the books that I’m putting on my list, and I'll probably change my mind about them, but that doesn’t matter. I’m going to take a much more relaxed approach to reading this year and just read what I can, when I can.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (#6) by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (#7) by J.K. Rowling

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay by J.K. Rowling

Anne of Ingleside (#6) by L.M. Montgomery

Girl Online: Going Solo (#3) by Zoe Sugg

Code Name Verity (#1) by Elizabeth Wein

Rose Under Fire (#2) by Elizabeth Wein

Deltora Quest series by Emily Rodda

Half-Blood (Covenant series #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer 
The Darkest Minds (#1) by Alexandra Bracken 
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett 

Bakuman manga series by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata  

Mel 
I'm in much the same mindset as Jen. I just want to read what I happen to be in the mood for, since set TBR's really don't work for me much. That being said, I do want to complete a few series that I've left unfinished for years (that's not an exaggeration!). I have some books that I've only kept to see how the series finished, but are not part of a series that I particularly enjoyed anyway, so I want to unhaul them and free up some space on my shelves.

I also decided that I want to restrict rereads. The only exceptions to this will be Harry Potter (since I already started a reread last year), manga and graphic novels (because it takes no time at all to read them), The Kiss of Deception by Mary E Pearson (because it's been almost two years since I read it and I want to refresh my memory before I continue the series) and maybe Trick by Natalia Jaster (because I've been wanting to reread it, even though I only read it in January 2016!). So the reread of Throne of Glass that I was going to do this year isn't going to happen (I'm crying on the inside), but I really need to focus on reading books that I've been buying. The amount of unread books on my shelves is really getting out of hand!

Anyway, here's a few books that I have an interest in reading this month. Very sci fi driven - probably because I've been watching a lot of Star Trek Voyager lately!

The Loneliness of Distant Beings by Kate Ling
The Martian by Andy Weir
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Gravity by Melissa West
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Something Doctor Who related. Either 12 Doctors of Christmas, 12 Doctors or Timelord Fairy Tales.

Jen's 2017 Reading Goals

I’m approaching 2017 differently to previous years. I’ve decided that 2017 will be a year in which I read what I want, when I want. While I obviously still want to read as many books as I can, I want to do it without putting any pressure on myself. So I’m going to be setting only a minimal amount of goals and trying to make them as relaxed as possible so that I can be focused on reading rather than trying to reach a number.

This year, Mel and I also decided that we won’t be doing the TBR challenge in which she picks out 5 books from my TBR for me to read and I do the same for her. I'm a little sad about this because doing this challenge for the past two years has actually been successful in getting me to read a few series that would otherwise probably still be sitting unread on my shelves! But this year we both just want the freedom to read what we want with as little restrictions as possible.

Following on with that, I don’t plan on participating in any reading challenges or readathons etc this year. I’ve had fun participating in various readathons in previous years, but 2017 is going to be all about making reading as fun and relaxing as possible.

If a readathon comes around and it happens to fit in with what I’m currently reading or what I want to read at the time then I may consider joining in, but I just really don’t want the restriction or pressure of reading a certain book just because it meets the requirements for a challenge when I would rather be reading something else.

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 100 books

100 was a number that worked well for me in 2016 because it was a realistic and achievable target. I beat it easily last year so hopefully I’ll can do the same this year.

Decrease my TBR pile

Every year I set this as a goal and every year I fail rather spectacularly as I always end up adding to my TBR pile rather than decreasing it. But the number of unread books I now own has reached epicly ridiculous proportions and has actually been stressing me out. According to my calculations, I started 2016 with 213 physical TBR books and added 160 more during the year so I’ll be going into 2017 with 373 physical TBR books. That is just insane.

For 2017 I am going to try my absolute hardest to minimise my book buying and make it a priority to read from my physical TBR pile. I know that it’s just not going to be possible for me to stop buying books altogether, but limiting myself to only buying new releases that I really want, or books at the top of my wishlist that I find for a good price would be a start in not adding too many more to my TBR. It would also make it easier on my wallet!
To avoid putting unnecessary pressure on myself, I won’t be aiming for any specific number, but just to end 2017 with less TBR books than what I started would be a great achievement.

Read/complete 10 series

This was also a goal that I set and achieved for the previous two years so I want to keep it going in 2017. Unlike 2016 however, this year I won’t be setting a specific list of series to read. It didn’t work out too well last year because it felt like I was forcing myself to read certain books rather than what I was in the mood for.

I do have a list of series that I most want to read in 2017. Most are completed series that I’ve owned and been wanting to read for quite some time now. A few are unfinished series from 2016 that I would love to finish this year, and others are either new series or re-reads in anticipation of the final book being released in 2017. I expect that I will be reading most of these books but it’s not absolutely essential that I stick to the list if I’m not in the mood and I just want to read something else.

Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas

Falling Kingdoms series by Morgan Rhodes

Covenant series by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Darkest Minds trilogy by Alexandra Bracken

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer  

Across the Universe trilogy by Beth Revis

The Selection series by Kiera Cass

The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan

Deltora Quest series by Emily Rodda

Pushing the Limits series by Katie McGarry

Burying Water series by K.A. Tucker

Breathing series by Rebecca Donovan

Girl Online series by Zoe Sugg (book 3)

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (books 6 - 8)  

Restricting re-reads

This idea actually came from Mel and I thought it was fantastic. While diving back into a series that I love can be so rewarding, time spent re-reading is precious time that I could be spending on a book that I haven’t read yet and reading from my physical TBR pile is a top priority for me this year.

Keeping it to a minimum is the goal here because I know that limiting myself to zero re-reads just isn’t going to happen. I already have a few books in mind that I know I’m going to be re-reading.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince & Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

This is to complete the series re-read that I began in 2016.

Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

I read all five books plus the prequel novellas that were out last year and because I have such a hopeless memory, there’s just no way that I’ll remember everything that happened. I plan on marathoning a re-read of this series so that I can be fully prepared and raring to go when the sixth and final book is released. But this would have to be one of my favourite series and it definitely deserves a re-read! 

Read more manga

I discovered my love for manga only within the last six months or so but I quickly became very addicted and there are just so many series that I want to read! Unfortunately, I can’t read everything at once (especially since some series are super long!), nor can I afford everything that I want to, so I’m just listing the series that I would most love to read. I doubt I’ll be able to get to all these series this year so it’ll be determined by what I can purchase myself or access from the library.

Bakuman by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata

Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa

A Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Oima

Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya

Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto

InuYasha by Rumiko Takahashi

Bleach by Tite Kubo

Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima

Jen's 2016 Year in Reading

2016 Reading Goals 

1. Goodreads 2016 reading challenge: 150 books → COMPLETED
This goal was originally set to 100 books but I easily surpassed that so I increased it to 150 books and I beat that as well! According to GR, I ended 2016 having read 189 books! Of those, 165 were new to me and 24 were re-reads. The genre that I read the most from was fantasy, with manga coming in second and surprisingly, children’s classics coming in third. The remainder were a mixture of science fiction, paranormal, contemporary and mystery/thriller.

2. Read at least 50 books over 200 pages in length → COMPLETED
Out of all the books that I read in 2016, just over half (101/189) were ones that met this goal. The rest (88/189) of the books were a mixture of audiobooks, graphic novels, manga, companion books and also a few novels that were re-reads for me.

3. Complete 10 series in 2016 → COMPLETED
Series completed in 2016 (11)

Burn for Burn trilogy by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Delirium trilogy by Lauren Oliver

His Fair Assassin trilogy by Robin LaFevers

Captive Prince trilogy by C.S. Pacat

The 5th Wave trilogy by Rick Yancey

Shatter Me trilogy by Tahereh Mafi

Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick

Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children trilogy by Ransom Riggs

Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Oz series by L.Frank Baum - I actually discovered part way through the year that only the first 14 books were written by the original author and that the rest of the series were written by other authors and published after Baum’s death. As my box set only contained 15 books and I have no desire to read the books not written by the original author, I’m declaring this series completed. 

Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas - Since this series has not yet finished publication, I’m calling this an up-to-date series rather than completed. I’m still listing it here because I did read all the books that are currently out for this series, but it’s more for myself to keep track of. 

Manga series completed in 2016 (3)

I originally wasn’t going to include manga as part of my completed series but I have since decided to list them separately because I want to keep track of it for myself and also they did make up a decent chunk of what I read in 2016.

Death Note Volumes 1 - 13 by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata

Library Wars: Love and War Volumes 1 - 15 by Kiiro Yumi

Happy Marriage?! Volumes 1 - 10 by Maki Enjoji  

4. Read 3 books and watch the movie adaptations → COMPLETED
I found that with a lot of the books that I read, I either tried to watch the movie and wasn’t in the mood for it, or I just didn’t want to watch the movie at all. So, without counting any movies that I had already seen before, I only just managed to make my list of three.

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (2016 film)

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (1985 film)

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1995 film)  

5. Read at least 3 classics → COMPLETED
I wanted to try and read at least one of the many adult classics that I have slowly been accumulating but that didn’t end up happening. Like in 2015, I only ended up reading children’s classics in 2016. But they still count!

6. Read a genre I don’t usually read → COMPLETED
For me this is historical fiction. I actually think I may have only read one historical fiction book the entire year and that was way back in January 2016 but it still completed the challenge!

A surprising discovery I made was actually manga. I had read a couple of volumes before and wasn’t too impressed. So I don’t know what was different this time around, but I fell completely in love. I completed three of the shorter manga series there are and it’s only fueled my newfound obsession with this genre!  

7. Read 5 new to me authors → COMPLETED

I was definitely an overachiever with this challenge. In 2016 I ended up reading books from 40 authors that were new to me!

8. Read 5 books over 500 pages → COMPLETED

I ended up reading 19 of these books and some of them were very much over the 500 page mark so I’m very happy with that.

9. Decrease my TBR pile → DID NOT COMPLETE
Failed again! This is the second consecutive year in which I not only did not lower the number of TBR books I own, I actually increased it! By a whopping amount. I started 2016 with 213 TBR books and I actually ended the year with 373 physical TBR books. That’s an extra 160 books that I somehow managed to add onto my TBR and it horrifies me to think of the amount of money that I’ve spent on those books! It just has to stop because I cannot keep doing that!  

10. Read Mel’s 2016 TBR picks → DID NOT COMPLETE
I came so close to completing this one! I read four out of five of Mel’s choices for me but I just couldn’t get to that last one. I just either wasn’t in the mood or I was already reading too many other things at the time.  
The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly → read
Heidi by Johanna Spyri → read
Burn for Burn trilogy by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian → read  
Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi → read

Dark Heart trilogy by Lee Monroe → DID NOT READ 
  

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Favourite books of 2016

These books all made it onto this list because I just absolutely could not get enough of them. I devoured them while I was reading them, I wanted to re-read them immediately after finishing them and even now I still think about how amazing these books were.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett 

Soundless by Richelle Mead 

The Siren by Kiera Cass 

His Fair Assassin trilogy by Robin LaFevers 

Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff 

Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

I was scared to start this series because of all the crazy hype surrounding it, but I was worried for nothing because this series definitely lived up to and deserves all the hype and more. I read each of the books in publication order and I honestly loved each one even more than the previous one. I’ve heard a lot of people didn’t like Empire of Storms and that’s just so sad because I absolutely loved it and it’s probably my favourite one in the series so far. Also, are these not some of the most beautiful book covers in existence? 

Shine: The Making of the Australian Netball Diamonds by Jenny Sinclair & Megan Maurice

This is the only non-fiction book to make this list. I doubt that netball is a very widely known sport internationally, but I am probably one of the biggest netball fans that there is. There are so few netball books out there and the vast majority of them are fictional reads aimed at the middle grade level and younger. I soak up any bit of netball that I can so this book was like Christmas had come early for me and I devoured it in no time.

Of course, I had to include the three manga series that I read as part of my favourites since I ended up loving all of them.

Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata 

Library Wars by Kiiro Yumi 

Happy Marriage?! by Maki Enjoji

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Disappointing books of 2016

I’ve only listed the books here because I actually wrote an entire blog post going into more detail about why I found them disappointing.

Burn for Burn trilogy by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi

The 5th Wave trilogy by Rick Yancey

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by John Tiffany & Jack Thorne