My top books of 2017

In 2017, I took part for the first time in the Goodreads reading challenge, setting myself a goal of 500 books.  My previous top total in the five years I've kept track was 324, so it was ambitious, but I wanted to be pushed to get some of the tbr shelves actually read.  I ended up having read 466, of which 6 were picture books that I didn't count for the challenge.  And I only read about ten from the tbr shelves, so it was pointless in that regard.  So the only thing to do, of course, is to read 501 books in 2018.

Here are the books I read for the first time that I liked best.  My criteria for "liking best" is a book that I can imagine re-reading (links go to my reviews).  The books are in the order in which I read them.

Realm Breaker (Last Dragon Charmer 3), by Laurie McKay.  I hope there are more to come in this very fun series, and I can imagine starting at the beginning in preparation for book 4...fingers crossed!

Thick as Thieves, by Megan Whalen Turner, because she repays re-reading awfully much.

Bone Jack, by Sara Crowe, I don't feel an immediate need to re-read, because it is all still so clear and vivid in my mind.  But I will want to someday, I'm sure.

What Goes Up, by Katie Kennedy It was both funny and tense, and in a re-read the tense is less so and you get to enjoy the fun more!

Paladin of Souls, by Lois McMaster Bujold.  I hadn't read any of her books before this year, and I loved this one in particular!  I'll probably be reading it again sooner rather than later, because I listened to it, and want to experience it as text as well.

The Emperor of Mars, by Patrick Samphire.  Another I'll want to re-read to prepare myself for a much hoped for book 3!

The Reluctant Queen, by Sarah Beth Durst.  ditto!

Winter of Ice and Iron, by Rachel Neumeier.  I already want to go back to this world and read it again and it's only been a few months.  I also want to read it in finished hardcover form, because the printing of the ARC I read was mangled in places (whole paragraphs with no spaces between the words), and I think I will enjoy it unmangled even more. Also I know the ending now, which is so much more relaxing.

It was a slightly odd reading year for me in that a lot of the books I read I didn't pick because I thought I'd like them--I wrote quite a few list posts for the Barnes and Noble Kids Blog, which meant basically trying to read all the middle grade fiction of 2017.  I read a lot of middle grade and YA fantasy and science fiction for my own enjoyment, and lots of those books were very good, but there were surprisingly few that I will give shelf space to. I hope my 2018 list of to be re-reads is longer! 

And just as a postscript, here's the most interesting non-fiction book I read in 2017--The Buried Book: The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh  It didn't have much competition, because I didn't read much interesting non-fiction, but I'm glad I read this one! I picked it up because Thick as Thieves made me think of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, and I realized I didn't actually know that much about Gilgamesh.  And now that I do, I have another reason for wanting to re-read T. as T....