2017 on Goodreads

I'm looking forward to understanding this concept, I've just created my “exclusive” shelf. Please GR friends I admit m lost here and would enjoy seeing all these reviews in one place. Advice welcome.

Favorite books read in 2017:
Ladies of the Manor series, by Roseanna M. White

2017: BUEN AÑO, MEJOR FIN DE AÑO.

Con un total de 87 libros, mas o menos igual al año pasado en cuanto a cantidad de libros, pero menos en cantidad de páginas; debe ser falta de fantasía.

Un buen año, no he tenido tan malas lecturas, por lo menos no recuerdo haber odiado alguna. Pero no había sido un excelente año, solo hay que ver que 5 de mis lecturas favoritas son del último mes y 2 de enero.

MEJORES LECTURAS



- Call my by your name, de André Aciman.
- El bufón Dorado, de Robin Hobb (o lo que leí este año de Robin Hobb).
- Eleanor Oliphant está perfectamente, de Gail Honeyman.
- Mr Gwyn, de Alessandro Baricco.
- Villette, de Charlotte Brontë.
- HHhH, de Laurent Binet.
- Hijas y Esposas, de Elizabeth Gaskell.
- Ubik, de Philip K. Dick.
- Instrumental, de James Rhodes.
- La Cruz Ardiente, de Diana Gabaldon.
- El problema de los tres cuerpos, de Liu Cixin.
- Los Demonios, de Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

No están enlistados por orden, pero si tuviera que elegir un primer puesto, sería Call me by your name. Es el libro que más me ha llegado este año y me dejó un poco de resaca, sin poder leer en dos o tres días. Gracias le doy a la llegada de El Bufón Dorado que leí después y me mantuvo leyendo hasta altas horas de la noche, con dos de mis personajes favoritos Traspié y El Bufón. En este libro tuve ganas de patear a Traspié unas cuantas veces. Y éste año al igual que el anterior en fantasía el nombre es: Robin Hobb .

No leo mucho contemporáneo, pero trato, en serio, y al final de año intente ponerme un poco al corriente con este género y algunos se han colado en mis favoritos. Primero tenemos Eleanor Oliphant está perfectamente, que trata sobre la soledad y la amistad. He visto el tema de la soledad en estos últimos meses y me gustó mucho como se trata aquí, y sobre todo que no se va por la parte romántica y todo el desarrollo es más lento y creíble. Este libro tiene una de las historias de amistad incondicional más bonitas que he leído. Mr Gwyn, ya había leído antes a Alesandro Baricco y no me había impresionado. En este libro tenemos a un escritor que un día decide ya no escribir y su nuevo plan es hacer retratos de personas, pero escritos, así de ridículo como se oye, pero que resulta muy interesante. Y al igual me pasa con la no ficción, que debo leer un poco más, el año lo inicié leyendo en enero HhHH e Instrumental.

Este año trate de incluir un poco más de ciencia ficción, leí dos libros de Pillip K. Dick, tal vez por el estreno de Blade Runer, pero el que llegó a la lista no fue éste, sino Ubik, que me sorprendió para bien. Otro en llegar fue El Problema de los tres cuerpos, que me hizo pensar mucho; sobre todo me hizo pensar mucho en mis hermanos.

Y si hay algún libro de Charlotte Bronte, tiene que llegar a esta lista. Este año le tocó a Villette, con este personaje de Lucy que no cuenta nada y esconde sus sentimientos, incluyendo al lector. Siguiendo con los clásicos leí dos libros de Elizabeth Gaskell, pensé un poco si poner en esta lista a Hijas y Esposas, pero es que me gusta mucho como escribía esta autora, así que aquí está. Aunque mi favorito de toda la vida será Norte y Sur. Y por último porque fue la última lectura del año Los Demonios, que batalle un poco, al final tuve que cambiar de traducción, porque sentía que leía y no me enteraba de todo y será culpable de que no sé por que año consecutivo no lea en diciembre Ana Karenina. Ana Karenina siempre me ha llamado para leerlo en invierno, tendrá que ser a inicios del 2018, porque me resulta muy difícil leer dos rusos seguidos. Y este año también me reencontré con Jamie y Clare en La Cruz Ardiente.

OTRAS MENCIONES



Quería mencionar otros libros que no llegaron a los favoritos, pero me gustaron también. Falsa Identidad, de Sarah Waters, que lo leí debido a la adaptación de Park Chan-wook que fue de mis películas favoritas del 2016, tiene algunas escenas que me resultaron muy difícil de ver, pero es muy recomendable, al igual que el libro. Y con más ciencia ficción está Flores para Algernon, de Daniel Keyes y la segunda parte de los cantos de Hyperion, La caída de Hyperion de Dan Simmons . Y por último en fantasía urbana: la saga de Kate Daniels (Magic Shifts) de Ilona Andrews. Kate y Curran son de mis parejas favoritas, es refrescante no ver tanto drama innecesario.

PEORES Y DECEPCIONES

Si tuviera que elegir la peor lectura sería Trópico de Cáncer de Henry Miller . Lo inicié en noviembre y lo terminé a mediados de enero, a pesar de ser un libro corto, y se ha quedado con el puesto todo el año; es que es tan aburrido.

Como decepción pongo Buenos Presagios de Terry Pratchett y Neil Gaiman. En serio pensé que me iba a gustar mucho, me llamaba mucho la atención la trama y se veía bastante entretenido, pero al final me terminó aburriendo.

Esperemos el 2018 nos traiga buenas lecturas y sea un mejor año en todos los aspectos.

I was blessed with some superb fiction this year.
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James and The Sellout by Paul Beatty both won the Man Booker and long may, in my opinion, that award provide such profoundly brilliant reading. I also read some wonderful Australian literature that left me impressed in a manner that had me salivating for more. Tirra Lirra by the River by Jessica Anderson, Harlands Half Acre by David Malouf, A Descant For Gossips, Wake in Fright by Kenneth Cook and To The Islands by Randolph Stow showed my native literature at its finest. Add to that a play by David Ireland called Image in the Clay that I found profoundly interesting.

Honourable mentions include The Harp of the South by Ruth Park. If not for slight surgery sweet writing this would also have been mentioned above.

Last but not least is the magnificent Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman. For me a masterpiece.

On the nonfiction front this year was a letdown. The best was probably The Vandemonian Wars by Nick Brodie. This book was in fact a laborious read but had a significant story to tell. The Cultural Revolution by Frank Dikotter was of the standard of the previous 2 in his trilogy on China and a must read for anyone that has an interest in the subject. One book I really enjoyed was Everett Ruess : A Vagabond For Beauty that was a fascinating local tale of a young traveller who went missing in the Utah desert in 1934. A link to what I read in 2017. https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/6852430-4triplezed?read_at=2017

This year I am making no promises to myself on what I read. Let what I am in the mood for be how it is.

hahahaha what do you mean the year is halfway over? haha send help.So far this year I've read 69 books and died approximately 323,893,742 times.And out of those 69 books, I've rated 17 as 5 stars.And out of those 17 books, 11 are rereads. I've only rated 6 books this year five stars. 6 books!!!What is with all this disappointment? Have I just turned cynical all of a sudden? Last year, I rated 34 books as 5 stars and only 6 of those 34 were reread... I've been picking up such disappointing books lately I have to give the first half of the year 3/5 stars. If you see me start reading a book that sucks, please stop me. I can't do any more disappointment in my life A few of my favorite books I've read this year[bc:We Are the Ants 23677341 We Are the Ants Shaun David Hutchinson https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1425574151s/23677341.jpg 43285034][bc:History Is All You Left Me 25014114 History Is All You Left Me Adam Silvera https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462807691s/25014114.jpg 44686341][bc:Phantom Limbs 23617206 Phantom Limbs Paula Garner https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463595181s/23617206.jpg 43222389][bc:A Conjuring of Light 29939230 A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3) V.E. Schwab https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464017758s/29939230.jpg 44752519][bc:At the Edge of the Universe 28763240 At the Edge of the Universe Shaun David Hutchinson https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463790854s/28763240.jpg 48954372][bc:The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley 20500616 The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley Shaun David Hutchinson https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1402325542s/20500616.jpg 34298034][bc:Flame in the Mist 23308087 Flame in the Mist (Flame in the Mist, #1) Renee Ahdieh https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476724612s/23308087.jpg 42862752][bc:A Court of Wings and Ruin 31451174 A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3) Sarah J. Maas https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1487592484s/31451174.jpg 25126752][bc:Eliza and Her Monsters 31931941 Eliza and Her Monsters Francesca Zappia https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476994065s/31931941.jpg 52586056][bc:Our Dark Duet 32075662 Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity, #2) Victoria Schwab https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476399662s/32075662.jpg 43242921]Can I shout out the worst book so far this year? I'm going to bc why the heck not???? I wanna make sure y'all don't accidently suffer.[bc:Once and for All 32078787 Once and for All Sarah Dessen https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1494152180s/32078787.jpg 52249829]Don't read it. Thank me for saving your butt later.

Descripciones completas en las entradas del blog.


Entre tanta impureza, debe haber un diamante. Este año, como siempre y gracias a todo lo bueno, encontré varias joyas a lo largo de los meses. Unas mejores que otras, y eso lo verán a continuación.
Empezaré diciendo que me alegra haber tenido un año de buenas, BUENÍSIMAS, lecturas, algunas quedando en mi corazón por siempre. La mayoría resultó una sorpresa. Colocaré links en las lecturas que tengan reseña.
Comencemos, que el tiempo es oro.

LIBROS
A Thousand Boy Kisses ★★★★★
Too Late ★★★★★ Reseña
Where Sleeping Gods Lie ★★★★★
Sólo Mío ★★★★★
La Biblioteca de Almas ★★★★★ Reseña
Just a Bit Wicked ★★★★★ Reseña
Kings Rising ★★★★★ Reseña
Just a Bit Wrong ★★★★★ Reseña
Él, Diávolo ★★★★★ Reseña
Sick Fux ★★★★★ Reseña

Menciones Honoríficas
Winter (Crónicas Lunares #4) — Marissa Meyer. ★★★★★
Robin Hood — Anónimo. ★★★★★ Reseña
Written in Red (Los Otros #1) — Anne Bishop. ★★★★★
El Pianista del Gueto de Varsovia — Wladyslaw Szpilman. ★★★★★

MANGA
Mob for Jack #1 ★★★
The Specific Heat Capacity of Love ★★★★
Unapai ★★★★
Pet Keiyaku ★★★★★
Tsumibito No Kiss ★★★★★
Royal Fiance ★★★★★
Pendulum - Juujin Omegaverse ★★★★★
Mother's Spirit ★★★★★




Esta es la parte del año donde me pongo el sombrero hater y digo cuáles fueron esas pésimas lecturas, esos terribles libros que mis ojos tuvieron el horror de posar. Voy a comenzar diciendo que algunas estuvieron más o menos, iremos del “pasable” al “¡que le corten la cabeza!”. Y, por primera vez, ¡en versión manga también!.
Yo no soy de leer mangas, sin embargo en los últimos meses, por una resaca de lector tuve que hacerlo. Sin más preámbulos, ¡comencemos!

LIBROS
Canción de Navidad ★★
Wink Poppy Midnight ★★
La Espada de Cristal ★★
Tangled Rose ★★
It Ain't Me, Babe ★★

MANGA
Doctor Du Ming ★★★
Den of the Sleep Demon ★★
Yajirushi ★★
Mob for Jack #2 ★★
Eternal Love ★

Top 10 Reads of 20171) [b:Assassin's Fate 30688013 Assassin's Fate (The Fitz and the Fool, #3) Robin Hobb https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1492869860s/30688013.jpg 44600531] - 5 Stars - (My Review)2) [b:Oathbringer 34002132 Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3) Brandon Sanderson https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1507307833s/34002132.jpg 23840254] - 5 Stars - (My Review)3) [b:Sins of Empire 28811016 Sins of Empire (Gods of Blood and Powder, #1) Brian McClellan https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1472056794s/28811016.jpg 49026464] - 5 Stars - (My Review)4) [b:Persepolis Rising 28335696 Persepolis Rising (The Expanse, #7) James S.A. Corey https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1481562381s/28335696.jpg 48382887] - 4.5 Stars - (My Review)5) [b:We Are Legion (We Are Bob) 32109569 We Are Legion (We Are Bob) (Bobiverse, #1) Dennis E. Taylor https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474344826s/32109569.jpg 52752877] - 4 Stars - (My Review)6) [b:The Daylight War 9268487 The Daylight War (Demon Cycle, #3) Peter V. Brett https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1360777092s/9268487.jpg 14150105] - 4 Stars - (My Review)7) [b:Six of Crows 23437156 Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) Leigh Bardugo https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1500689111s/23437156.jpg 42077459] - 4 Stars - (My Review)8) [b:The Collapsing Empire 30078567 The Collapsing Empire (The Interdependency #1) John Scalzi https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464097677s/30078567.jpg 50498420] - 4 Stars - (My Review)9) [b:The Stone Sky 31817749 The Stone Sky (The Broken Earth, #3) N.K. Jemisin https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1478547421s/31817749.jpg 52472813] - 4 Stars - (My Review)10) [b:Going Rogue 32064513 Going Rogue (Spells, Swords, & Stealth, #3) Drew Hayes https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474117787s/32064513.jpg 52708667] - 4 Stars - (My Review)For the rest of my review here's the report generated by my GoodReads Parser Application and some general comments about the numbers. ^_^***** Yearly Report ****Year: 2017Total Books: 81Rereads: 6Overall my reading continues to drop (both in terms of number of books and their total length) from the last 4 years. I've been gaming more than I have in past years, and I took off more time from my bike riding than I probably should have which reduced my audio consumption a bit. Additionally there were several stretches throughout the year that I simply wasn't reading any books, even slowly like I have since joining goodreads.****** Format Breakdown ******Total AUDIO_BOOK Count: 53 (65.43%)Total BOOK Count: 10 (12.35%)Total EBOOK Count: 7 (8.64%)Total GRAPHIC_NOVEL Count: 11 (13.58%)As my reading continues to drop from previous years, the percentage of my books that I consume through audio continues to increase, even though my audio is down as well (but only slightly)******* Genre Breakdown ******Total FANTASY Count: 47 (58.02%)Total HISTORICAL Count: 3 (3.70%)Total NONFICTION Count: 3 (3.70%)Total SCIFI Count: 26 (32.10%)Total THRILLER Count: 2 (2.47%)Hey look I read a lot of fantasy and a fair bit of Sci-Fi. Then again if you read my reviews that's not a surprise. Last year I made an effort to read more stuff from other genres, but my efforts in that regard this year have reverted a bit. SFF accounts for over 90% of my reading this year.******** Author Gender Breakdown ********Total MALE Count: 61 (75.31%)Total FEMALE Count: 18 (22.22%)I'm happy to see this has improved slightly (up from 17%/15 books last year), although I'd like to see it continue to rise. In the last few years I've added a few new female authors to my favorites, so hopefully they keep putting out more books for me to enjoy while I hopefully find a few new favorites to add. I'm not striving for a 50/50% ratio here, but I'd like make sure I'm not missing out on great books due to gender bias, especially since 3 of my top 10 reads this year were written by woman.** Ratings ****Average Rating: 3.75Total 2 Count: 4 (4.94%)Total 3 Count: 17 (20.99%)Total 4 Count: 55 (67.90%)Total 5 Count: 5 (6.17%)As far as book selection, my average is up a bit this year. It's once again hovering just under a 4 star rating for the year, so I'm doing pretty well. Of the four 2 star rating books, three were book picks made by someone else and the other was a reread of [b:Crossroads of Twilight 113435 Crossroads of Twilight (Wheel of Time, #10) Robert Jordan https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1408325146s/113435.jpg 195579], which I knew going in I wouldn't like, but I was too stubborn to skip on my Wheel of Time reread.I didn't add too many 5 star books to my shelf this year. Of the five books I gave 5 stars to, two of them were rereads. However the number of 4 star reads is up from the last few years, so overall I made good use of my reading time.Years Published:Total 1969 Count: 1 (1.23%)Total 1977 Count: 1 (1.23%)Total 1982 Count: 1 (1.23%)Total 1986 Count: 2 (2.47%)Total 1988 Count: 2 (2.47%)Total 1990 Count: 1 (1.23%)Total 1991 Count: 1 (1.23%)Total 1992 Count: 1 (1.23%)Total 1993 Count: 1 (1.23%)Total 1998 Count: 1 (1.23%)Total 2000 Count: 2 (2.47%)Total 2001 Count: 1 (1.23%)Total 2003 Count: 1 (1.23%)Total 2004 Count: 1 (1.23%)Total 2005 Count: 2 (2.47%)Total 2006 Count: 2 (2.47%)Total 2008 Count: 1 (1.23%)Total 2009 Count: 1 (1.23%)Total 2010 Count: 2 (2.47%)Total 2011 Count: 1 (1.23%)Total 2012 Count: 3 (3.70%)Total 2013 Count: 2 (2.47%)Total 2014 Count: 2 (2.47%)Total 2015 Count: 6 (7.41%)Total 2016 Count: 10 (12.35%)Total 2017 Count: 32 (39.51%)Decade Published:Total 1960 Count: 1 (1.23%)Total 1970 Count: 1 (1.23%)Total 1980 Count: 5 (6.17%)Total 1990 Count: 5 (6.17%)Total 2000 Count: 11 (13.58%)Total 2010 Count: 58 (71.60%)Most of my reading comes from books published since 2010, and a good number (32) of my total were published in 2017. Only about 4% of the books I read were published before I was born.Additional Stats:Number of Books: 28Total Pages: 9396Longest Book: [b:Oathbringer 34002132 Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3) Brandon Sanderson https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1507307833s/34002132.jpg 23840254] - 1243 pagesShortest Book: [b:Lumberjanes, Vol. 6: Sink or Swim 30312555 Lumberjanes, Vol. 6 Sink or Swim Shannon Watters https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1471401688s/30312555.jpg 50799351] - 112 pagesAverage Pages: 335.57Number of Books (Excluding Graphic Novels): 17Total Pages (Excluding Graphic Novels): 7804Average Pages (Excluding Graphic Novels): 459.06Number of Audiobooks: 53Total Audio Hours: 926Longest Book: [b:A Memory of Light 7743175 A Memory of Light (Wheel of Time, #14) Robert Jordan https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1336055749s/7743175.jpg 10558806] - 42 hoursShortest Book: [b:The Dispatcher 26082188 The Dispatcher John Scalzi https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474569919s/26082188.jpg 46020966] - 2 hoursAverage Hours: 17.47Overall I think it was a good year for me, but I hope I don't have so many reading funks next year as I did this year.