This past January, I posted about my personal reading plans for 2017, outside of regular reading challenges. Well, 2017 is just about up, so it's time to see how successful I was in keeping them.

Complete (mostly!). I reread one of his books per month, although I was occasionally late at this. I have now reread all of his Thursday Next books and the Chronicles of Kazam (technically the third book of a series was my only non-reread, having read it for the first time this month). There is still one book to go - Shades of Grey - which I'm planning to reread in January.

Success! I picked six books off my bookshelves that I've been wanting to read for years, but hadn't gotten around to. I gave myself two months to get one read (so the first one had to be read sometime in January or February, etc.). I sometimes fell behind with this, too, but I was successful in reading all six! In case you're curious, here are the books I had picked:

- The Case for the Real Jesus by Lee Stroebel
- Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
- Minders of Make-Believe: Idealists, Entrepreneurs, and the Shaping of American Children's Literature by Leonard S. Marcus
- The Shepherd's Castle by George MacDonald
- The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
​- Crossworld: One Man's Journey into America's Crossword Obsession by Marc Romano

Success (just barely)! I made a goal that 50% of all the books I read should come from my own shelves, rather than the library. I succeeded, with a percentage at this point of 51%. I'm happy that I met the goal, although I was really hoping I would do even better. There's always next year! Now that I know that this method keeps me on track of reading my own books, I'll keep going with it!

I've finished the rest of my reading challenges for the year!! (Well, sort of. Exceptions will be addressed in the challenges to which they apply.) I'm cutting it closer than I normally do, but I made it! (More or less.)

​Books Bought in 2017
1. A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron (read in January)
2. The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birdsall (read in April)
3. The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George (read in July)
4. Around the World in 50 Years by Albert Podell (read in August)
5. Uprooted by Naomi Novik (read in April)
6. Jesus on Trial: A Lawyer Affirms the Truth of the Gospel by David Limbaugh (read in March)
7. The Hemingway Book Club of Kosovo by Paula Huntley
​8. The Lure of the Moonflower by Lauren Willig
9. The Kestrel by Lloyd Alexander (read in April - May)
10. The Beggar Queen by Lloyd Alexander (read in August - October)
​11.  Gypsy Rizka by Lloyd Alexander
12. The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (read in November)
​13. Linnets and Valerians by Elizabeth Goudge
14. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (read in April)
15. Tears of a Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith
16. Freckles by Gene Stratton-Porter
17. Mail Obsession by Mark Mason
​18. The Hidden Gallery by Maryrose Wood (read in July)
19. Flirtation Walk by Siri Mitchell
20. Time Was Soft There by Jeremy Mercer
21.  Sweet Thunder by Ivan Doig
22. If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name by Heather Lende
23. Inklings by Melanie M. Jeschke
24. Expectations by Melanie M. Jeschke
25. Evasions by Melanie M. Jeschke
26. Leepike Ridge by N.D. Wilson
27. A Necessary Deception by Laurie Alice Eakes
28. A Flight of Fancy by Laurie Alice Eakes
29. A Reluctant Courtship by Laurie Alice Eakes
30. The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan
​31.  Trip of the Tongue by Elizabeth Little
32. Dandelion Fire by N.D. Wilson
33. The Jewel of Kalderash by Marie Rutkoski
34. The Unseen Guest by Maryrose Wood (read in October)
35. The Interrupted Tale by Maryrose Wood
​36. The Unmapped Sea by Maryrose Wood
37. Mr. Lemoncello's Great Library Race by Chris Grabenstein
​38. Snowdrift and Other Stories by Georgette Heyer
39. The Lost Track of Time by Paige Britt
40. Manor of Secrets by Katherine Longshore
41. Wings of Fire: The Lost Heir by Tui Sutherland
42. The Girl on the Cliff by Lucinda Riley
43. It Happened at the Fair by Deanne Gist
44. My Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead
45. Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan
46. John Adams by David McCullough
​47. Wandmaker by Ed Masessa

So I stopped tracking this one in May because I have no trouble reading books published before 2017. I signed up because I liked the Hogwarts house competition aspect, but I never really did anything with this part. This probably isn't a reading challenge I'll participate in again, but it did motivate me to add a publication year column to my book-tracking spreadsheet, and that has been really interesting to see!

Okay, here's one exception. I'm not actually done with the last book I'm reading for this challenge (Work Song by Ivan Doig). But I definitely will be by the end of the year, so I'm counting it!

And another year of reading challenges done (almost)! Now I need to figure out what to sign up for next year!

I'm getting this post up a little late, but at least it's still Monday! I spent yesterday's naptime (when I usually work on this post) wrapping presents instead, so I had to wait until naptime today to get it up. My little guy is doing a great job of leaving our Christmas tree alone, but we didn't think we should tempt him by putting presents under it. So even though everything is wrapped, they're still stashed away upstairs until it's time to open them on Christmas! Only one week to go!

The Eye of Zoltar by Jasper Fforde (This was the only Jasper Fforde book I had never read, and I spent a year rereading his books to work my way up to it. It was a lot of fun, but ended with a cliffhanger I wasn't expecting, since I thought this was the third book in a trilogy. Guess not! More Fforde fun to look forward to.)
​The Way of the Wilderking by Jonathan Rogers (This was a satisfying conclusion to this trilogy.)

Artemis by Andy Weir (My husband read this book in three days, which I think is a record for him. On second thought, he may have read The Martian ever faster. Either way, I enjoyed The Martian, so I thought I would give Weir's next book a try.)
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney (I haven't read this one since middle school. It's delightful!)
​Erewhon by Samuel Butler (43% complete!)

Work Song by Ivan Doig (This will be the last book I need to complete all of my 2017 reading challenges! Yay!!)

There's finally snow on the ground! Only about an inch, but it counts. And we have a Christmas tree up, covered in lights - and that's it. No ornaments this year! So far my little guy has touched it a few times and tried to hug it twice, but no damage done. Every time he sees it, he points and says, "Ooh!". We haven't put up any other decorations yet. One step at a time. But it still feels like Christmas around here!

The Case for the Real Jesus by Lee Strobel (Fascinating and really well done.)
The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (AMAZING! Just as good as the first one. Read these books immediately. Please.)
The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper (I don't know how I missed out on this series as a kid. I'm enjoying it now.)

The Eye of Zoltar by Jasper Fforde (The last of my Jasper Fforde "rereads" for the year isn't actually a reread. I'm so excited! A Jasper Fforde book I haven't read yet!!)
Erewhon by Samuel Butler (Still chipping away at my Classics Club list through Serial Reader. 14% complete)

Sourdough by Robin Sloan (I snatched this one off the new shelf at my library. I can't wait!)

I participated in too many reading challenges this year, but (knock on wood), I think I'm going to get them all finished. (Just might not get that stack of library books read before their due date.) Here is round one of the challenges that I've completed so far this year:​

Result: I actually complete all 102 categories! The list is too crazy long to post here, but you can see it on my 2017 Reading Challenges page.

A - Avonlea (Chronicles of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery)
B - Bradbury (The Choir Immortal by Katie Schuermann)
C - Copenhagen (Number the Stars by Lois Lowry)
D - Dorset (Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English by Natasha Solomons)
E - England (The Governess of Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky)
F - France (The Inquisitor's Tale by Adam Gidwitz)
G - Germantown (Bright April by Marguerite de Angeli)
H - Hawaii (Moloka'i by Alan Brennert)
I -  Italy (Waterfall by Lisa Tawn Bergren)
J - Japan (The Scent of Sake by Joyce Lebra)
K - Kansas (100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson)
L - London (The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde)
​M - Michigan (A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron)
​N - New Zealand (Slipping Into Paradise by Jeffrey Masson)
O - Oxford (First Impressions by Charlie Lovett)
P - Polnya (Uprooted by Naomi Novik)
Q - Quebec (Still Life by Louise Penny)
R - Rye (The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson)
S - Swindon (The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde)
T - Three Pines (A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny)
U - United States (A Walk Across America by Peter Jenkins)
V - Virginia (Milk Glass Moon by Adriana Trigiani)
W - Westmark (Westmark by Lloyd Alexander)
X - Xinjiang, China (From Heaven Lake by Vikram Seth)
Y - Yarrow (Frogkisser! by Garth Nix)
​Z - Zimbabwe (and others - Around the World in 50 Years by Albert Podell)

So there we go! Four out of nine complete, with the others not far behind. Check back soon for my Round Two post!

It's feeling Christmas-y around here! My husband got our outdoor lights up this weekend. I haven't gotten any decorating inside the house yet, but it's coming soon! Our church's Christmas concert was yesterday afternoon, which is always amazing (and exhausting, because I direct the adult handbells and sing in the church choir). Let the Christmas season begin!

North! or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson (Oh, my goodness, you need to read this series. This is the second book in the Wingfeather Saga, and it just kept getting better and better. I can't wait to read the third one!)
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (Finished! It got a little dry in the middle, but overall. I really enjoyed this one.)
A Gathering of Days by Joan Blos (My last Newbery read of the year.)

A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline (Book club book for the month. I've got to finish it by Friday, but I don't think that will be a problem!)

The Case for the Real Jesus by Lee Strobel (I've been saving this one for Advent/Christmas, and now we're here!)