Athena

Wow, well done . I hope you had fun. Well done! It sounds like it's been a very successful read-a-thon for you . I didn't read much yesterday, but that's okay. How did the rest of you do during this read-a-thon (those who haven't replied in a few days)? The next read-a-thon will take place on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of February (2018).

Thanks BSchultz !

Great reviews! Mercy is actually one of the (relatively few) Jodi Picoult books I haven't read yet, so I'm glad you liked it .

Wow, that is amazing !! Did Probable Paws involve a cat? Yesterday I read one book, Megan McDonald - Fleur Humeur 5: Fleur Humeur wordt dokter (Judy Moody 5: Doctor Judy Moody) (159 pages). I haven't read in any book today yet, and I'm not sure yet if I will. But that's okay.

Thanks Janet !

Wow, those pictures are stunning Janet - a great place to have a Waterstone's! The only shop similar to that I can think of, is Dominicanen in Maastricht, which is situated in an old church. I didn't take any pictures when I was there though, I'm always kind of hesistant about whether the shop personell will appreciate someone taking pictures in their shop, even if so many people online seem to be taking pictures. I wish you luck with the challenge, a book shop is a great reason to visit a town, in my opinion!

I hope it's okay to post in this thread? It's so nice to see you BSchultz! How've you been?! Good luck with the studies! I've studied Chemistry, and my brother and father has/have studied Engineering. So you're kind of studying a combination of it all XD. Good luck ! I wish you a great year in 2018 and happy reading ! I'll be following your thread .

I hope those of you who are reading Jane Eyre, are liking the book. I read it some years ago and liked it. I read two books yesterday, I read Dylan Haegens Stripboek by Dylan Haegens, Marit Brugman and Rick Vermeulen (64 pages) and I read Anne Frank, Ari Folman, David Polonsky - Het Achterhuis (graphic novel of Anne Frank's Diary) (159 pages). I'm not sure if I'll be doing any reading today, I feel quite tired from the errands / things from this morning.

I wish you a great reading year in 2018, Janet !

Thank you Alexi, I hope the same for you !

Congratulations on finishing the challenge !!

Happy read-a-thon-ing this weekend to those who participate !

Thanks Madeleine !

Have you watched any TV series or documentaties or other things lately? Tell us about it here . We've just finished watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3, and will probably start season 4 in one of the next few days.

Have you seen any films recently? Tell us about it in this topic . The last film I saw was It's a Wonderful Life. I hadn't seen it before, and while it felt a bit slow in the beginning, in the end it all made sense.

Thanks, Brian !

The read-a-thon is this weekend. I don't know yet what I'll feel in the mood to read for the read-a-thon, but I'm just going to see what I feel like reading, after I finish my current read (which is Loes den Hollander - Voorbedacht). So I won't be doing any group read, but if you three want to do a group read, please feel free to discuss it here if you want to . I wish everyone who participates fun during the read-a-thon .

Thanks Hayley, Happy New Year to you too !!

I wish you a great reading year in 2018, Hayley ! Have fun re-reading the Discworld books!

I wish you a Happy New Year Chrissy, I hope 2018 will be a great year for you .

It was extremely stormy here yesterday, with some rain and hail. It should be a bit quieter weather today.

I am so, so sorry to hear this ! Losing a dog is so hard. I know Obi had a great life under your care and I wish you and your family strength in these difficult times . We lost our first dog just after the new year, now 9 or 10 years ago (on January 3rd). I know Obi was very loved by you and your family and I will be thinking of you all . Big hugs.

I wish you a great reading year in 2018, Ian . May it be filled with many 5* books!

Favourite read? Jen Wilde - Queens of Geek Rachael Lucas - The State of Grace Favourite author? I don't know, couldn't pick just one. Most read author? Masami Tsuda (21), Paul van Loon (11), Geronimo Stilton (7), Max Velthuijs (6) Favourite book cover? There are so many nice ones! Book you abandoned? Blake Charlton - Spellwright 3: Spellbreaker (page 125 out of 476, 26%) Ava Dellaira - Liefdesbrieven Aan De Sterren (Love Letters To The Dead)(page 34 out of 334, 10%) Suzanne Young - The Program 2: De Behandeling + Het Herstel (The Program 2: The Treatment + The Recovery) (page 84 out of 396) Krystal Sutherland - Our Chemical Hearts (page 104 out of 316, ~33%) Amanda Craig - The Other Side of You[/b] (page 12 out of 101, ~12%) Book that most disappointed you? (* I'm answering in fully read books only) Graeme Simsion - The Best of Adam Sharp Helen Fielding - Bridget Jones's Baby Dr. Matt - When It Comes To Relationships, You've Been An Idiot Eric Maisel - Why Smart People Hurt: A Guide for the Bright, the Sensitive, and the Creative Funniest book? Allie Brosh - Hyperbole and a Half. Favourite literary character? Not sure. Favourite children's book? I couldn't pick just one. Favourite classic? N/A. Favourite non-fiction book? Ashley Mardell - The ABC's of LGBT+. Favourite biography? Alis Rowe - The Girl with the Curly Hair Aad van Toor - Moe, ik kan een salto! Favourite collection of short stories? Shawn Inmon - Life is Short: The Collected Works of Shawn Inmon Favourite poetry collection? None, I haven't read any poetry. Favourite illustrated book? (I'm listing 3 graphic novels, hope that counts) Noelle Stevenson - Nimona Cece Bell (colouring David Lasky) - El Deafo Debbie Tung - Quiet Girl in a Noisy World Favourite publisher? Not sure, I read books from a variety of publishers. Favourite audiobook? None, I don't listen to audiobooks. Favourite re-read? Masami Tsuda - Kare Kano series.

Summary 2017 2017 is over! I read 236 books and 52853 pages in 2017. That's less than how much I read in the past 3 years (2014-2016) (but more than in 2013 or 2012). Part of that is that I wanted to read more books I felt like reading rather than going for specific totals. Another part is that I had several reading slumps throughout the year. I had a big slump that started at the end of May. I read less for a couple of months, after that my slump seemed to be over. I didn't read any book during the last 10 days of December, and am now (as I'm writing this) in sort of a new reading slump. But the January read-a-thon is coming up this weekend, so let's see how it goes. Anyway, the third reason is that this past year I've also been busy doing some other things. In 2017 I read a variety of genres, though I read way more contemporary fiction than anything else. Of course, in some cases I class children's books as contemporary fiction as I don't consider "children's" to be a genre but an age range. But still, even if I take that into account, I read a lot of contemporary fiction. I started several fantasy and one science-fiction series in the first half of 2017, but then later in 2017 didn't feel like continuing those series right then (even if I had been enjoying them). And I often didn't feel like starting a whole new series yet again or reading too many series at once. I guess that's why I read not so much fantasy and science-fiction. And I didn't seem to be as much in the mood for rom-com and other genres, at least according to what I've read. My reading is pretty evenly split up between standalones and series books, but I think that most of the series books are actually books that are part of series but of which each book can sort of be read on its own, and I think they're mostly books for children. Age range wise I'm happy with the balance. I read some picture books for infants, some children's books and middle grade (I don't make this distinction but some people do, so), some young-adult and some books for adults. This year I re-read quite a few books, compared with earlier years. About 20% of my reading were re-reads, while it's usually more like 10%. This year I also went to the library less often, only a couple of times in fact. About a quarter of my read books in 2017 were borrowed from the library. I also read some books belonging to my boyfriend. Most of the books I read were books I own. And almost all of the books I read were physical copies, only a few were digital. I have a strong preference for physical books, so this makes a lot of sense to me, I tend to only read e-books of which I can't get a physical copy. I read more female authors than male, but I also read some books written by multiple authors of different genres. Interestingly though I read more books with a male protagonist than with a female one. I also read quite a few books with multiple protagonists of different genders. About a third of my reading were new authors, and two thirds were familiar authors. I read both English and Dutch books, with just a bit more English books than Dutch books. I read more blue books than books of any other colour and I've been reading more shorter books and less longer ones. This year I read a couple of books that I think will really stay with me for a longer time. They were books featuring people / characters with autism, ADD, anxiety, mental illnesses, disabilities. This year's favourites is a combination of familiar authors but also of some new-to-me authors. Book buying wise.. well, the less said about it the better . I really didn't do well with trying to 'not buy so many books'. In the summer of 2017 I got some new bookcases and I reorganised all my books, which was so much fun . I didn't participate in many read-a-thons in 2017 and think I'm ready to try to participate in them again in 2018 (albeit without forcing myself to read the same kind of books every time during a read-a-thon). Below are some more graphs and pie charts for good measure, because I love those kinds of things . See you all in 2018 !