With twelve minutes to spare in 2017, I completed my Goodreads goal of reading 50 books. Thanks to the diversity of those books, I also completed the Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge. Let’s recap the categories accompanied by detailed & extensive lists:
📚 A Book you Chose for the Cover – Before we dive into the list, I want to clarify that I define a cover buy as a book I picked up because the cover caught my eye, which doesn’t mean I didn’t look at the synopsis:
📖 My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by Ally Carter, David Levithan, Gayle Forman, Holly Black, Jenny Han, Kelly Link, Kiersten White, Laini Taylor, Matt De La Peña, Myra McEntire, Rainbow Rowell, & Stephanie Perkins | I almost didn’t buy this book, but I couldn’t get the cover out of my head.
📖 The Messenger of Athens by Anne Zouroudis
📖 Wicked Autumn by G.M. Malliet
📖 Murder on the Cliffs by Joanna Challis
📚 A Book With a Reputation for Being Un-Put-Down-Able
And Then There Were None & Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie | Some people might also include Death on the Nile, myself included.
📖 Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
📖 The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
📖 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, …Chamber of Secrets, …Prisoner of Azkaban, & …Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
📖 Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
📖 Cinder & Heartless by Marissa Meyer
📖 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
📖 The Rook, The Knight, The Bishop, & The Queen by Steven James ( bestselling author & series )
📚 A Book Set Somewhere You’ve Never Been but Would Like to Visit
🇪🇬 Egypt – Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie, Crocodile on the Sandbank & The Curse of Pharaohs by Elizabeth Peters
🏴 England – A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, And Then There Were None, Crooked House, & The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie, Murder on the Cliffs by Joanna Challis, Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon, & Wicked Autumn by G.M. Malliet
🏴 Scotland – The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan
📚 A Book You’ve Already Read – I did a lot of rereading last year:
📖 Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories & Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
📖 Kristy’s Great Idea, Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls, & The Truth About Stacey by Ann M. Martin
📖 Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
📖 Mind Over Monsters, To Catch a Vampire, & Death Takes a Holiday by Jennifer Harlow
📖 Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
📖 Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
📖 Tutu Deadly & Tapped Out by Natalie M. Roberts
📖 The Rook, The Knight, & The Bishop by Steven James
📖 White Christmas Pie by Wanda E. Brunstetter
📚 A Juicy Memoir – In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem, and Fun in the Sandbox by Carol Burnett. The ending made me cry. No lie!
📚 A Book About Books or Reading – The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan & The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
📚 A Book in a Genre You Usually Avoid – These aren’t all genres I avoid on purpose; I just don’t reach for them often:
📖 My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by Ally Carter, David Levithan, Gayle Forman, Holly Black, Jenny Han, Kelly Link, Kiersten White, Laini Taylor, Matt De La Peña, Myra McEntire, Rainbow Rowell, & Stephanie Perkins ( contemporary )
📖 Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff ( science fiction )
📖 In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem, and Fun in the Sandbox by Carol Burnett ( memoir)
📖 The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern ( fantasy )
📖 Mind Over Monsters, To Catch a Vampire, & Death Takes a Holiday by Jennifer Harlow ( supernatural )
📖 The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan ( contemporary )
📖 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, …Chamber of Secrets, …Prisoner of Azkaban, & …Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling ( fantasy )
📖 Cinder & Glitches by Marissa Meyer ( science fiction )
📚 A Book You Don’t Want to Admit You’re Dying to Read – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. I’m not embarrassed by this series but rather ashamed that I didn’t pick it up sooner. I also read …Chamber of Secrets, …Prisoner of Azkaban, & …Goblet of Fire.
📚 A Book in the Backlist of a New Favorite Author – Pearl in the Sand by Tessa Afshar
📚 A Book Recommended by Someone With Great Taste – These are recommendations by bookstagrammers, booktubers & friends:
📖 Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
📖 The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
📖 Night by Elie Wiesel
📖 Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon
📖 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, …Chamber of Secrets, …Prisoner of Azkaban, & …Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
📖 Cinder & Heartless by Marissa Meyer
📖 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
📚 A Book You Were Excited to Borrow or Buy but Haven’t Read Yet – Though I’m excited about every book I purchase, this list includes the titles I’d been dying to read but had yet to do so:
📖 And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
📖 The Curse of the Pharaohs by Elizabeth Peters
📖 The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
📖 Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
📖 Heartless by Marissa Meyer
📖 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
📖 The Queen by Steven James
📚 A Book About a Subject or Topic You Already Love – Another thorough list:
📖 And Then There Were None, Crooked House, Death on the Nile, Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories, & Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie ( mystery )
📖 The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie ( Christmas & mystery )
📖 The Unexpected Guest by Agatha Christie & Charles Osborne ( mystery )
📖 My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by Ally Carter, David Levithan, Gayle Forman, Holly Black, Jenny Han, Kelly Link, Kiersten White, Laini Taylor, Matt De La Peña, Myra McEntire, Rainbow Rowell, & Stephanie Perkins ( the holidays )
📖 The Messenger of Athens by Anne Zouroudis ( crime )
📖 In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem, and Fun in the Sandbox by Carol Burnett ( The Carol Burnett Show )
📖 The Mystery of the Stone Tiger by Carolyn Keene ( mystery )
📖 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens ( Christmas )
📖 Crocodile on the Sandbank & The Curse of the Pharaohs by Elizabeth Peters ( Egyptology & mystery )
📖 Wicked Autumn by G.M. Malliet ( mystery )
📖 Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire ( I already love the musical! )
📖 The Postcard Killers by James Patterson ( crime )
📖 Kingdom Come by Jane Jensen ( Amish life & crime )
📖 The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan ( books & reading )
📖 Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon ( mystery )
📖 Murder on the Cliffs by Joanna Challis ( mystery )
📖 Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder ( pioneer life )
📖 Cinder & Glitches by Marissa Meyer ( fairytales )
📖 Heartless by Marissa Meyer ( Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland )
📖 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak ( books & reading )
📖 Tutu Deadly & Tapped Out by Natalie M. Roberts ( dance & mystery )
📖 The Rook, The Knight, The Bishop, & The Queen by Steven James ( crime )
📖 Land of Silence & Pearl in the Sand by Tessa Afshar ( Bible times )
📖 Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen by Vicki Delaney ( Christmas & mystery )
📖 White Christmas Pie by Wanda E. Brunstetter ( Amish life & Christmas )
• Total: 12 Categories & 50 Books
• Here are links to my reading updates & 2017 Goodreads Challenge:
2016 Wrap Up & 2017 Reading Challenges ( V I D E O )
January Reading Wrap Up | 2017 Reading Challenge Update
October 2017 Wrap Up | November 2017 TBR
Murder on the Orient Express Vlog
📚 2017 Goodreads Reading Challenge 📚
Due to reading fatigue, I am not officially committing to the 2018 Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge. However, I’m not giving up completely. I may join at any point during the year so I’m leaving the categories here for reference.
📚 A Classic You’ve Been Meaning to Read – A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
📚 A Book Recommended by Someone With Great Taste – TBD
📚 A Book in Translation – The Time in Between by Maria Duenas
📚 A Book Nominated for an Award in 2018 – TBD
📚 A Book Of Poetry, a Play, or an Essay Collection – Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
📚 A Book You Can Read in a Day – Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
📚 A Book That’s More Than 500 Pages – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
📚 A Book by a Favorite Author – Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
📚 A Book Recommended by a Librarian or Indie Bookseller – The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
📚 A Banned Book – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
📚 A Memoir, Biography, or Book of Creative Nonfiction – Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, and Everything in Between by Lauren Graham
📚 A Book by an Author of a Different Race, Ethnicity, or Religion Than Your Own – Harvest of Gold by Tessa Afshar
Last but not least, I pledged to read 55 books on Goodreads. I’m not going to push myself because reading should be fun, not a competition. Regardless of whether or not I read a certain number of books, I’m doing something I love. Happy reading!
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