Hey everyone, this is Miz Moffatt
from Across the Litoverse,
and it’s time for the Year-End Reading Survey:
the 2017 Edition!
I’ve got 20 bookish questions,
and a lovely cup of tea,
so let’s get to some retrospective work,
shall we?
I’ve kept a reading spreadsheet
since the middle of 2010,
and I love looking back over the books I’ve
read
just to get a snapshot of my year overall.
I’ve fine-tuned this list based on my own
reading tastes,
and I invite you to do the same,
if you’re in the mood for a survey.
In 2017, I read 59 books,
which totaled 15,978 pages,
so maybe, thanks to this survey,
you might add a book or two to your 2018 reading list as well.
Let’s get started, shall we?
1.Best Book of 2017:
I read four 5-star books this year,
which is unprecedented.
For the sake of this survey,
I’ll play clear favourites and pick
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky
Chambers.
I bet you’re all surprised, aren’t you?
I’ll leave a link to my review below,
but honestly, this was the most inclusive,
and heartwarming science fiction book I’ve read
in a while,
and there’s a good reason I won’t stop
talking about it.
I’ve also added A Closed and Common Orbit
to my 2018 TBR pile, just so you know.
2.Worst Book of 2017:
I bailed on a few books this year,
but I will have to pick
The Gone Away World by Nick Harkaway.
I admit, the premise was fascinating—
it’s about a bomb designed to make your enemies
simply go away,
which is bound to have nightmarish consequences.
But it took so long for anything to happen.
I only finished this one because I was buddy-reading it,
otherwise I would have bailed completely.
3. Most Disappointing Book of 2017:
I might earn the wrath of a few viewers right
now,
but I will have to pick
American Gods by Neil Gaiman.
I actually bailed on this one,
and a made a video discussing that,
but yeah, Gaiman and I just have a rocky relationship
with each other.
I wanted so badly to like this one,
especially because it inspired the creator of Supernatural,
and it's about a dark road trip across America, which appeals
to me so completely.
No dice.
4. Most Surprising Book (in a good way!) in 2017:
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.
I definitely was not expecting
such a dark, and gritty, and experimental sci fi read
from a YA series,
and there was some romance to boot, which
I adore.
And Obsidian, which is book three of the Illuminae Files, comes out this year, and I cannot
wait.
5. Book You Recommended to the Most People in
2017:
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers!
I will stop talking about this book
some day,
but today is not that day.
6. Best Series Discovered in 2017:
I think this is a three-way tie between
The Illuminae Files, for its addictive, experimental
sci fi,
The Collector trilogy for its pulpy urban
fantasy,
and The Lady Trent series for its loosely
Victorian, high fantasy dragon adventures.
7. Best Manga Series Discovered in 2017:
The Girl from the Other Side: Siuil a Run
The artwork is different from anything I’ve
ever seen in manga,
and the story itself is so eerie and haunting,
yet oddly heartwarming and life affirming.
If you like Ancient Magus Bride,
then The Girl from the Other Side needs to
be your next read.
8. Favorite New Authors of 2017:
Becky Chambers!
I really hope I haven’t built up A Closed
and Common Orbit for myself…
I also need to read more Octavia Butler after
reading Kindred, truth be told.
9. Most Hilarious Read of 2017:
The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey.
My nephew adores these books, and I read the
first one based on his recommendation, and
I loved it.
Who can beat a book with actual flip animation
fight scenes, come on now.
10. Most Thrilling Book of 2017:
I had a tough time putting down
Dead Harvest by Chris F Holm—
reading pulpy urban fantasy containing angels
and demons at war
makes for addictive October reading, let me
tell you.
11. Book You Anticipated the Most for 2017:
I have my hands on both of my most anticipated
books of 2017,
and they would be The Book of Dust Vol 1, La Belle Sauvage by
Philip Pullman,
and Turtle All the Way Down by John Green.
I’ll be reading both in 2018, woot!
12. Favorite Cover of a Book You Read in 2017:
I might go for the covers of the Lady Trent
series—
it’s rare to get a cover that perfectly
encapsulates
a novel, and this series is spot on.
And maybe, it might surprise you,
that I might also pick another book too…
13. Most Memorable Character in 2017:
All the Wayfarer crew members from,
wait for it—
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky
Chambers.
14. Most Beautifully Written Book in 2017:
Man by Kim Thuy
is the obvious pick for me.
Thuy walks a fine line between prose and poetry,
and she makes you feel as if you’re
sharing this
very intimate space with the
main character.
So gorgeous, I would read Thuy’s grocery list,
I swear.
15. Book that Had the Greatest Impact on You in
2017:
The Day the World Came to Town by Jim Defede.
This one talks about the amazing people of
Gander, Newfoundland
who took in the passengers of 38 flights on
September 11.
I’m Canadian, so this book hits me in a
very patriotic place.
16. Book You Can't Believe You Waited Until 2017
to Finally Read:
Um, basically all the books I read for
my 2017 TBR Reading Challenge.
Seriously, I’ve owned some of those books
for years,
and I’m glad I finally made a concerted
effort to read them.
17. Best LGBT Read of 2017:
My Brother’s Husband Vol 1 by Gengoroh Tagame—
this was such a complicated, and heartwarming
book and I cannot wait until volume 2 comes out.
Yaichi is a stay-at-home dad
whose life is turned upside down
when his deceased twin brother’s husband,
Mike Flanagan,
shows up in Japan.
It was beautiful, and it’s everything I
could have wanted
from an LGBTQ manga.
18. Best Novella Read in 2017:
Passing Strange by Ellen Klages.
This is the book that made me want to read
every novella I could get my hands on,
so thank you, Ellen Klages.
It’s a wonderful, magical, romantic tale
about two ladies in the 1940s
who meet and fall in love, and really,
what more could you ask for?
19. Best Poetry Collection Read in 2017:
So I only read one poetry collection this
year,
and it was Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur.
I first read this as an ebook from my library,
and I soon discovered that it did not contain
the entire collection.
It’s plain-language poetry with a few simple
illustrations,
but it definitely hit a few nerves for me
(and I imagine it did for a lot of other readers
too)
20. Best Re-Read in 2017:
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.
I love me some Ray Brads,
and I’ve read this one a few times,
and this time around,
I actually uncovered some new layers
that I hadn’t noticed before
(and really, that’s the goal behind re-reads).
I’ll leave a link to my review below, in case
you’re curious,
but I highly recommend re-reading books.
And that’s a wrap on my last year in books!
Stay tuned for my 2018 Reading Challenge video
(although, I seem to have dotted this video
with some spoilers).
If you liked this video,
make sure to give it a thumbs up to support
this channel.
As always, thank you for watching,
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from Across the Litoverse.
On that note, signing off.
19. Best Poetry Crol—
Crol–lection…?
