Another year comes to a close. 2016 threw quite a few punches my way that I wasn’t expecting, both professionally and personally. Some of the good, like my dotsons Willow & Chase, and some not so great.
My sister and I with Willow & Chase on Christmas 2016 ^_^
As it were, like many other people, I’ll be teetering into 2017 with one eye open and not with a complete full-stop attitude. While I did not check off as many book goals or writing goal that I originally planned to this year, I am very happy with what I have accomplished.
Up Next: Is Bookish Lifestlye‘s 5th Annul TBR Reading Challenge:
In which I intended the:11-20 A Friendly Hug level. LOL Let’s just say I made it to an awkward hug XD with 8 out of 11 books.
Thank You, Goodnight by Andy AbramowitzThree Parts Dead by Max GladstoneThe Other Son (Brinkmann Trilogy #2) by Alexander SoderbergOrient by Christopher BollenIt Started with Paris by Cathy KellyI, Ripper by Stephen Hunter- Hostile Takeover (John Lago Thriller #2) by Shane Kuhn
- Hard Love (Hacker #5) by: Meredith Wild
- Friction by Sandra Brown
- Demon Within (Silver Legacy #2) by Alex Westmore
Deceptions (Cainsville #3) by Kelley ArmstrongThe Blessings by: Elise- 3volve By: Josefina Gutierrez
Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse- Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda By: Becky Albertalli
- The Shadow of Loss By: Josefina Gutierrez
- Half-Breed Queen (Skatia Narratives #1)By: L.A. Hendricks
Then, there was The Book Nympho & Hot Listens’ Audiobooks Challenge:
Not being familiar with audiobooks that much, I choose the weekend warrior level with 5-10 books. I did pretty well with that one.
Finally, I was taking part in The YA Book Traveler’s RockmyTBR challenge:
Which I completed.
- Greywalker (Greywalker #1) by Kat Richardson
- Eat, Pray, Love by: Elizabeth Gilbert
- Graceling (Graceling Realm #1) By Kristin Cashore
- Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by: Mindy Kaling
- The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, & Madness at the Fair that Changed America by: Erik Larson
- Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of Lusitania by: Erik Larson
Going in to 2017:
Looking ahead, I’ve realized that I want to broaden my reading list and stick to the genres and topics I had the most fun reading this year. If you take a look at my Goodreads account, you’d see that on average I mainly give 3 star ratings. And that’s not to say that I only want to read books that I like or books that I know I’d give a higher rating too. I’d just want to read more books that speak to me, aren’t as predictable and ones that do not lack in the character or story depth department.
This also means I’ll try to cut back on blog tours, specifically the ones that get the most attention or do not offer a wide, diverse range of books and authors. You can see now that I’ve removed several tour banners from the side bar.
Lastly, be sure to check out, visit frequently and often Notebook Culture‘s web site! I will be writing more articles there as well going into 2017 and I’d love for you all to visit. ^_^
G. Jacks Writes (About Everything) 
I have found that most of my books fall into the three-star range, which seems about right. They can’t all be five-star books, but I understand what you mean about wanting to read more books that speak to you. I’m planning to seek out more black women’s fiction for that very reason.
I’ve been working on do the same the last two days. I’d like to have a list already made but I might just turn it into a read/review as I go ^_^