The Great Big List of All the Books I Read in 2017

In 2017, I read 68 books.

Of those books, 40 were fantasy of some variety, 18 were science fiction, and 10 were an assortment of other fiction and non-fiction.

Here they are:

• A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
• A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab
• A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
• A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab
• A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
• Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey
• All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
• An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard
• Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
• Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie
• Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie
• Caliban's War by James S.A. Corey
• Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey
• City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett
• Crossroads of Canopy by Thoraiya Dyer
• Communication Failure by Joe Zieja
• Damn Fine Story by Chuck Wendig
• Dark Run by Mike Brooks
• Dungeons & Dragons (Fifth Edition): Curse of Strahd
• Dungeons & Dragons (Fifth Edition): Hoard of the Dragon Queen
• Dungeons & Dragons (Fifth Edition): Out of the Abyss
• Dungeons & Dragons (Fifth Edition): The Rise of Tiamat
• Dungeons & Dragons (Fifth Edition): Tomb of Annihilation
• Full Fathom Five by Max Gladstone
• Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff
• It Devours! by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor
• La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman
• Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
• Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
• Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
• Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
• Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
• Provenance by Ann Leckie
• Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
• Skullsworn by Brian Staveley
• Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel by Lisa Cron
• Story Physics: Harnessing the Underlying Forces of Storytelling by Larry Brooks
• The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
• The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
• The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
• The Fold by Peter Clines
• The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
• The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
• The Kick-Ass Writer by Chuck Wendig
• The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin
• The Kingdom of Gods by N.K. Jemisin
• The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
• The Management Style of the Supreme Beings by Tom Holt
• The Sandman Omnibus, Vol. 2 by Neil Gaiman
• The Shadowed Sun by N.K. Jemisin
• The Stone in the Skull by Elizabeth Bear
• The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin
• The Tiger's Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera
• The Unholy Consult by R. Scott Bakker
• The Waking Land by Callie Bates
• The Wall of Storms by Ken Liu
• The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
• The Wrong Dead Guy by Richard Kadrey
• Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer
• Twelve Kings in Sharakhai by Bradley Beaulieu
• Two Serpents Rise by Max Gladstone
• Secondhand Souls by Christopher Moore
• Vicious by V.E. Schwab
• Waking Gods by Sylvain Nuevel
• With Blood Upon the Sand by Bradley Beaulieu
• Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys
• Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

But Danielle, you say. How does a person balancing a full-time day job and a side-job building a writing career manage to read this many books in one year? The answer is simple, readers: I always have a book on me, and I read in the little moments. Out with a friend at dinner and the friend goes to the restroom? Hello book! In the waiting room for my dentist appointment? Hello book! Snatching half an hour to eat lunch during a busy day? Hellooooo book!

I also strongly recommend reading before you go to to bed. Experts say you should "unplug" from things with screens well before you try to sleep, and I find that reading before bed is an excellent way to unwind. I have to be careful, because the temptation is always there to stay up until 3:00 a.m. if it's a good book, so I set a defined time limit on how much I'm going to read before I sleep. Works like a charm (most of the time, anyway).

But Danielle, you say. You didn't review all of these books. Well, that's true. Some of these still have reviews coming. But I also don't review every book I read, for various reasons. Sometimes it's because I'm re-reading in anticipation of a new release, sometimes it's because I don't have strong enough feelings on the book to write a good review. And sometimes, quite frankly, I just get behind, and there's no way for me to get to the more interesting reviews I want to write without dropping a few off the pile.

This is my first year actually tracking what I've read. I thought I averaged over a book per week, and it turns out that's true. For 2018, my reading goals are:

• More science fiction. This was the year I rediscovered my love of scifi, and I want MORE. I'd like to close the gap between my fantasy and sci-fi reads.
• More non-fiction. I've never been a big non-fiction reader, but I usually pick up one or two in history, astronomy, etc. This year, however, the only non-fiction books I read were writing craft books. Those were a big help to me as an author, but I want to read a little wider in 2018.
• More diversity. I read more diversely than I ever have this year, and it was richly rewarding. I've gained so many new perspectives, and it's exciting to see characters that reflect not only myself but also my friends, co-workers, etc. In 2018, I want to seek out even more SFF written by women and POC authors.

I'm starting a 2018 post today to keep track of the new year! Remember: I'm always looking for suggestions, so leave 'em in the comments!