Sterling's 2017 reading challenge of 110+

[Sterling]

This year I would like to finish at least 110 books. Last year I finished 102, but I didn't finish any books for 3 months so I feel I should be able to hit 110, unless I hit another wall.

[Lisa]

Great goal! Best of luck! Happy New Year :)

[Sterling]

January books
1 Syndrome E 5 of 5, great mystery
2 Alien: Out of the Shadows 3 of 5 good
3 The Body Reader 4 of 5 very good
4 The Anubis Gates 4 of 5 very good
5 Samantha Watkins 1 of 5 frustrating, disappointing.
6 Magda 4 of 5 great series, nice ending to trilogy
7 Brimstone4* of 5* good mystery, great writing
8 The Brotherhood of the Wheel 3 of 5
9 Transmission 3 of 5
10 Booked To Die 5 of 5 great book,for book lovers.
11 Career of Evil 5 of 5 great mystery
12 The Crime Writer 4 of 5 good mystery
13 The Last Coyote 4 of 5 great mystery
14 Trunk Music 4 of 5 great mystery
15 The Narrows 5 of 5 great crime fiction.
16 Echo Park 5 of 5 great mystery
16 books read in January. Overall a lot of good mysteries.
Best book I read this month was Career of Evil

[Sterling]

February books finished
17 The Overlook 4 of 5 good mystery
18 The Girl In The Ice 4 of 5 good mystery
19 The Trespasser 4 of 5 good mystery
20 A Kiss Before Dying 5 of 5 great thriller.
21 Playing with Fire 4 of 5 good mystery/historical
22 Hexed 5 of 5 great fantasy adventure
23 Hammered 4 of 5 very good fantasy adventure
24 Burial Rites 4 of 5 very good historical novel
25 Huntress Moon 4 of 5 very good FBI thriller
26 Hide and Seek 4 of 5 good British mystery
27 Dark Waters 4 of 5 good Fantasy Mystery
28 Banned Body Language Secrets: EX CIA Agent Reveals How To Read Anyone Like A Book And Master The Art Of Non-Verbal Communication 3 of 5 basic body reading book
29 Darkness Brutal 4.5 of 5 great fantasy adventure
30 Dune 5 of 5 a Science Fiction Masterpiece!
31 The Day of the Jackal 5 of 5 incredible spy novel
32 Darkness Fair 4 of 5 good Fantasy Adventure
33 Heart of Darkness 3 of 5 good Classic Adventure
17 books read in February
Best book I read this month was A Kiss Before Dying

[Sterling]

March books finished
34 Darkness Savage 3.5 of 5 good Fantasy
35 Blood Moon 4 of 5 very good crime thriller
36 Night Watch 4 of 5 good Fantasy
37 Cold Moon 4 of 5 good police procedural.
38 Fimbulwinter 4 of 5 Fun Fantasy Adventure
39 Black Coven 5 of 5 Great Fantasy Adventure
40 Extermination 5 of 5 Great Fantasy Adventure
41 Schooled 4 of 5 good Murder Mystery
42 Bitter Moon 4.5 of 5 Great Murder Mystery
43 Six of Crows 4.5 of 5 Great Fantasy Adventure
44 Swan Song 4 of 5 Good Dystopian Horror
45 The Blade Itself 4.5 of 5 Great Epic Fantasy
46 Before They Are Hanged 5 of 5 Brilliant Fantasy
47 Last Argument of Kings 5 of 5 Brilliant Fantasy
48 Young Bloods 4.5 of 5 Great Historical Fiction
15 books finished in March
Best book I read this month was Last Argument of Kings

[Sterling]

April books finished
49 The Generals 4 of 5 Very Good Historical Fiction
50 Dissolution 4.5 of 5 Very Good Historical Mystery
51 Why Mermaids Sing 4.5 of 5 Great Historical Mystery
52 The Fifth Season 4 of 5 Very Good Fantasy
53 Once Dead 4 of 5 Entertaining Spy Thriller
54 City of Echoes 3.5 of 5 Good Mystery
55 The Providence of Fire 4.5 of 5 Very Good Epic Fantasy
56 Spell or High Water 4 of 5 Fun @Light Scifi
57Fool Moon 3.5 of 5 Good Fantasy Mystery
58 Battle Cruiser 5 of 5 Great Space Based Scifi
59 Dreadnought 5 of 5 Great Space Opera
60 Star Carrier 5 of 5 Great Scifi Finale
61 We Are Legion (We Are Bob) 4.5 of 5 Great Scifi
62 Poor Man's Fight 5 of 5 Amazing Scifi!! Great
14 books finished in April
Best book I read this month was Poor Man's Fight

[Susy]

Oh boy, shouldn't have read your post Sterling! Didn't do any good for my TBR list, it grew longer and longer.... ;) I wish I could read as much as you! Keep it up. Looking forward to your next post of books :)

[Sterling]

Susy wrote: "Oh boy, shouldn't have read your post Sterling! Didn't do any good for my TBR list, it grew longer and longer.... ;) I wish I could read as much as you! Keep it up. Looking forward to your next pos..."
Thank you. I hope you find some good books to read this year. I read a little of everything but mostly I read Fantasy, Mystery, and Horror. I hope I inspire you to find some interesting new reads.

[Sterling]

May books finished
63 Rich Man's War 5 of 5 Great Military Scifi
64 AlterWorld 5 of 5 Fantastic Scifi Fantasy
65 The Clan 5 of 5 Great Fantasy LitRPG
66 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 4 of 5 Creative Scifi
67 The Dead House 4 of 5 Good Creepy Psychological
68 The Hike 5 of 5 Great Mindtrip Fantasy
69 The Atrocity Archives 3 of 5 OK Scifi Adventure
70 One Second After 5 of 5 Great Dystopian Adventure
71 Halfway to the Grave 3.5 of 5 Good Fantasy
72 The Cartel 3.75 of 5 Very Good Crime Thriller
73 Before the Fall 4 of 5 Very Good Mystery
74 The Martian Conspiracy 3 of 5 Good Scifi
75 Altered Carbon 4 of 5 Great Dark Scifi
76 A Canticle for Leibowitz 2 of 5 Boring Fantasy
14 books finished in May. I was all over the place this month, many different genres and overall I read some real winners and some that I won't ever read or think about again. But overall a good month. The best book I read this month was The Hike.

[Lisa]

Wow, you're definitely on track with your goal, Sterling :)
I really appreciate that you add a few keywords for the genre of each book along with your rating.

Looking forward to seeing what else you'll be reading throughout the year.

[Anne Hawn]

Thanks for putting your stars and book type. It really is a help. You like a lot of the same kind of books I do and I had to add some to my TBR list even though I gave myself a good talking to before I read your notes.

[Susy]

Anne Hawn wrote: "Thanks for putting your stars and book type. It really is a help..."

I agree with Anne. Although it does mean that I keep adding even more books to my way too long TBR list. Thank you for that Sterling hahaha ;-) (already looking forward to your next post)

[Sterling]

Thank you all for following along with my reading. I appreciate your kind words, it helps me to push myself harder to finish more books. I also have a TBR stack that is way to long. I thought the more I read the less I would have to read but it actually doesn't work that way. It seems that the more I read the more I find to read. Anyway thank you Suzy, Lisa, and Anne Hawn.

[Sterling]

June books finished
77 Faithful Place 5 of 5 Brilliant Murder Mystery!
Ok so I only finished one book in June. What? Yeah well it was a great book, but that being said I am dealing with a medical issue and I really hope to be able get back to reading soon.
1 book finished in June. :(

[Sterling]

July books finished
78 Fated 4 of 5 Very Good Urban Fantasy
79 Cursed 4.5 of 5 Very Good Urban Fantasy
80 My Best Friend's Exorcism 3.5 of 5 Good Horror
81 Nexus 5 of 5 Great Scifi
82 In the Graveyard Antemortem 3 of 5 Good YA Fantasy
5 books finished in July. Still going through a painful medical condition but I am able to read and concentrate better than last month.
Best book I read this month was Nexus

[Sterling]

August books finished
83 Age of Swords 5 of 5 Amazing Epic Fantasy
84 The Butterfly Effect with Jon Ronson 5 of 5 Very Interesting NonFiction/ Psychology.
85 Fire and Sword 4 of 5 Very Good Historical Fiction
86 Murder on the Orient Express 4 of 5 Great Mystery
87 The Demonists 2.5 of 5 Ok Fantasy Horror
88 Summit 4.5 of 5 Great Historical Fiction
89 4:50 from Paddington 4 of 5 Very Good Mystery
7 books finished in August. Best book of the month was Age of Swords

[Sterling]

September books finished
90 Macbeth 5 of 5 Fantastic Historical Fiction
91 The Wrong Side of Goodbye 4 of 5 Good Mystery
92 Sleeping Beauties 2 of 5 Very Disappointing
3 books finished in September. Best book of the month was Macbeth

[Sterling]

October books finished
93 Paradox Bound 4 of 5 Great Scifi Adventure
94 The Library at Mount Char 3 of 5 OK Fantasy
95 Get Well Soon: History's Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them 2.5 of 5 Boring History of plague
96 What Angels Fear 4 of 5 Very Good Mystery
97 Code Name Verity 4 of 5 Very Good Historical
98 Alas, Babylon 4 of 5 Great Post Apocalyptic
99 Hell House 4.5 of 5 Great Horror
100 White Trash Zombie Unchained 5 of 5 Great Scifi Horror
101 An Unattractive Vampire 2 of 5 boring scifi
102 Follow You Home 3.5 of 5 decent Horror
103 Ghost Tracks: Case Files of Ed & Lorraine Warren 3 of 5 OK Paranormal Investigation Reports
104 Crane 3 of 5 Mediocre YA Fantasy
105 Origin 3.5 of 5 Pretty Good Dark Scifi
106 Strange Weather 4.5 of 5 Great Short Stories of Scifi Horror.
107 In a Glass Darkly 3.75 of 5 Good Victorian Horror
108 Burnt Offerings 4 of 5 Very Good Horror
109 Summer of Night 5 of 5 Great Supernatural Horror
17 books finished in October. The best book I read this month was Summer of Night

[Sterling]

November books finished
110 A Winter Haunting 4 of 5 Very Good Horror
111 Innocence 3 of 5 Good Fantasy
112 It 5 of 5 Amazing! A Masterpiece of Horror
113 An Ember in the Ashes 3.5 of 5 Good Fantasy
114 11/22/63 5 of 5 Fantastic Time Travel Scifi
115 Astrophysics for People in a Hurry 3 of 5 Ok Science.
116 The Fourth Monkey 4 of 5 Very Good Mystery
117 The Trinity Game 3 of 5 Good Thriller
118 Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage 4 of 5 Very Good Historical Non Fiction.
119 Artemis 4 of 5 Good Scifi
120 Stillhouse Lake 4 of 5 Very Good Thriller
121 The Graveyard Book 5 of 5 Great Fantasy
122 The Godfather 5 of 5 A Masterpiece
123 The Fifth Gospel 3 of 5 Good Mystery
124 The Dry 5 of 5 Fantastic Murder Mystery
125 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 4 of 5 Very Good International Mystery
126 Magpie Murders 4.5 of 5 Very Good Mystery
127 Locked Rooms 4 of 5 Good Mystery
128 No Country for Old Men 4 of 5 Good Thriller

Total books finished in November was 19! Best month this year.
So many great books this month, making it very difficult to pick one book as the best one I read this month. Their are like 5 that could easily be the best, but if I had to chose one I would have to chose It as the best book this month.

[Sterling]

December books finished
129 Speaks the Nightbird 5 of 5 A Masterpiece
130 The Queen of Bedlam 5 of 5 Great Mystery
131 The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter 5 of 5 Brilliant Fantasy Adventure.
I hate giving out so many 5 star ratings in a row, but I have no choice here. These three books are so freaking good! What a run!!
132 The Force 4 of 5 Good Police Procedural
133 The Metamorphosis 3 of 5 Weird Just Weird
134 Satan's Harvest 4 of 5 Very Good Nonfiction
135 The Lighthouse 2 of 5 Mediocre Mystery
136 Dead Certain 3 of 5 Pretty Good Mystery
137 The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World 4 of 5 Great Scienctific and Mathematical History
138 Mister Slaughter 4.5 of 5 Very Good Historical
139 Grave Peril 5 of 5 Very Good Fantasy Mystery
140 For We Are Many 4 of 5 Great Scifi
141 Angela's Ashes 4 of 5 Very Good Biography
142 Jacob T. Marley 4 of 5 Very Good Historical
143 Krampus: The Yule Lord4 of 5 Very Good Horror
144 Beneath a Scarlet Sky 4 of 5 Very Good History
145 Bird Box 3.5 of 5 Good Post Apocalyptic

17 books finished in December.
Best book from December was Speaks the Nightbird

[Lisa]

You're doing great Sterling. Have you discovered any new favorites?

[Sterling]

Lisa wrote: "You're doing great Sterling. Have you discovered any new favorites?"

Thank you Lisa.
I have read some amazing books this year. I just finished reading Speaks the Nightbird by Robert McCammon which is a series but it can be a stand alone. It was so fantastic, I have already read the next in the series and bought the entire series. McCammon is new to me so it was a pleasant surprise.
I also loves Stephen Kings 11/22/63 about time travel and the Kennedy assassination, and It was a Masterpiece.
I have read so many great books that I simply can't list all of them but the ones I mentioned stand out the most. They are the books that I am still thinking about long after I finished reading them.

[Susy]

Sterling wrote: "I have read so many great books that I simply can't list all of them but the ones I mentioned stand out the most. They are the books that I am still thinking about long after I finished reading them...."

Yes, and so every time I read one of your reviews my TBR list keeps growing and growing lol

I haven’t read 11/22/63 but seen the show and like it very much. Want to read the book too but the show is still to fresh in my memory so I’ll just wait a while.

IT is truly simply amazing indeed! LOVED it!

Looking forward to see what great books you will be reading in 2018!

[Sterling]

Susy wrote: "Sterling wrote: "I have read so many great books that I simply can't list all of them but the ones I mentioned stand out the most. They are the books that I am still thinking about long after I fin..."

Thanks Suzy.
11/22/63 was so good I can't even put it into words. I haven't seen the show so I don't know how close to the book it was. I have read nearly every book Stephen King has written and 11/22/63 is one of the best.
Good luck next year on your TBR list.

[Lisa]

Speaks the Nightbird found its way into my TBR sometime in the course of 2017 and I have no idea where I heard about it :D It's definitely been moved up the ranks since you speak so highly of it :)

For some reason I've gotten sick of Stephen King. Don't get me wrong, I love his books and writing style... There was a period in my 20s where where I read nothing but Stephen King books, so I feel like I've satiated my Stephen King quota for a while :D
It, I'm just steering away from for a whole other reason. Clowns! *shudders*

[Sterling]

Lisa wrote: "Speaks the Nightbird found its way into my TBR sometime in the course of 2017 and I have no idea where I heard about it :D It's definitely been moved up the ranks since you speak so hig..."

Haha, clowns. I still enjoy reading Kings books but the last one he wrote with his son, Sleeping Beauties, was a huge disappointment. I honestly don't see how it could win the Goodreads Choice Award for Horror this year.

[Lisa]

Sterling wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Speaks the Nightbird found its way into my TBR sometime in the course of 2017 and I have no idea where I heard about it :D It's definitely been moved up the ranks since you..."

Aww I'm saddened to hear that Sleeping Beauties didn't live up to the expectations. It's waiting in the wings for me on my Kindle but I doubt I'll get to it anytime before next Autumn/Halloween :)

[Susy]

Sterling wrote: "...11/22/63 was so good I can't even put it into words. I haven't seen the show so I don't know how close to the book it was. I have read nearly every book Stephen King has written and 11/22/63 is one of the best. "

Sounds good Sterling!

"Good luck next year on your TBR list."

Thx! :)

[Susy]

Lisa wrote: "For some reason I've gotten sick of Stephen King. Don't get me wrong, I love his books and writing style... There was a period in my 20s where where I read nothing but Stephen King books, so I feel like I've satiated my Stephen King quota for a while :D..."

Know the feeling Lisa. But now, for me, it's been such a long time since I've read Stephen King that I started again this year and I liked it, so maybe I'll just go and read the remaining of his books that I haven't read yet.

[Lisa]

Susy wrote: "Lisa wrote: "For some reason I've gotten sick of Stephen King. Don't get me wrong, I love his books and writing style... There was a period in my 20s where where I read nothing but Stephen King boo..."

Sounds like a plan Susy :) I'll definitely have to see how I'm feeling about him in 10 months time :)

[Sterling]

The top 10 books I read in 2017
#1 It
#2 Speaks the Nightbird
#3 11/22/63
#4 The Hike
#5 The Blade Itself
#6 Summer of Night
#7 The Godfather
#8 The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter
#9 The Graveyard Book
#10 Age of Swords

Total books finished in 2017 was 145
I finished a total of 62,117 pages!

[Susy]

Sterling wrote: "Total books finished in 2017 was 145
I finished a total of 62,117 pages!"

Wow, impressive Sterling, congratulations!

But I must say, you really have to stop reading such amazing books and writing reviews about them, especially series, because my TBR just can't handle it anymore! I've started writing my letter of resignation.... ;-)