Let's Get Literate! The End of Q2 2017

[renay]

We have reached the end of the quarter! It doesn't feel like mid-year, but here we are: July 2017, which feels like April 2045 in 2017 time. I did pretty well in my Q1 report, but didn't repeat this this time around. I've also done way more travel and work in Q2, plus had some bummer family stuff to deal with. This doesn't even include the awful bed bug infestation we're dealing with now...2017 has been A Year.

My 2017 reading goals:

• Read 110 items.
• Read 30 new women writers.
• Read 10 nonfiction titles.
• Space Opera Challenge: read 15 titles.
• Read 10 books I own purchased before January 1, 2017.
• Read 5% of my anticipated 2017 titles.

Read 110 items

98/110! Goodreads says I'm 89% through my goal. Thank you, One Piece, you continue to be a) awesome and b) great for my reading stats. I struggled the last two years to meet my reading goals so the fact it's half year and I'm right on top of 2017's goal feels surreal. It also doesn't feel like I've read as much even though I have, because I've been having great luck with the books this year and getting better at tapping out of books I'm not enjoying. Reading books I love means reading feels faster.

Read 30 new women writers

Since last quarter, I only read four new to me women writers. I'm at 19/30, which is still great. I would have had more but I read way less prose this quarter due to travel, sickness, family stuff, and work. Most of my new women writers were in nonfiction. Also, I realized when I reviewed my stats that I'm back into my habit of primarily reading white women so in the next quarter I'm going to work on fixing that.

Read 10 nonfiction titles

I completed this goal three months in to 2017. I didn't raise the goal, but I'm at 12/10 now. My main disappointment on this score is that my sleep hygiene took a hit due to BRAIN WEASELS and my nonfiction reading abruptly stopped, so I'm only now getting back into the swing of things. Bonus: all the early 2017 nonfiction my library got that I couldn't read because check out time was only two weeks is now finding its way into the general collection which means I get to dive in. \o/

Space Opera Challenge: read 15 titles

I'm only at 5/15, because I read one book last quarter I did not like at all and it bummed me out on space opera for weeks. I'm not sure what I'm going to read next because I really want to love whatever I do pick up. :( Has anyone reading any super fun space operas recently that they unabashedly loved?

Read 10 books I own purchased before January 1, 2017

Renay in May: I'm going to improve by mid-year!

Narrator: Reader, she did not improve by mid-year.

Read 5% of my anticipated 2017 titles

I'm at 9/38 (the second number will likely grow very soon as Q3 books start to get hyped) which is pretty great. Hooray for libraries; my library will help me get really close on this one.

2017 Q1: Favorite Books

I read less this time around, but I read several books that I liked a lot.

• Warchild by Karin Lowachee
• Burndive by Karin Lowachee
• All Systems Red by Martha Wells
• River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
• Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner
• Gone: A Girl, a Violin, a Life Unstrung by Min Kym

Comments

[transcendancing]

This is a great update! I feel like I've barely been reading this year but I know that's not quite true! I love your breakdowns too :)

[renay]

This year has been so weird that even though I know I'm reading it doesn't FEEL like it because my brain's all over the place. THANKS, WORLD EVENTS.

[transcendancing]

Oh yes, world events does probably explain this. Also final year in study. I'm at the gauntlet end of it *flops*

[novin_ha]

I'm really curious about River of Teeth and about All Systems Red but I need to get through books a) I already bought and b) my gf is bugging me to read ;(

Awesome stats!

[renay]

Ha ha, yes, take it from me: focus on the books you have purchased. DON'T BE ME. *hangs head in shame*

[bookgazing]

I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion (cuz I feel like novella writers must always be hearing this) but I really feel like River of Teeth needed to be longer. I enjoyed it (& the cast was fantastic) but I wanted a bit more for it to be a book of my heart & I think that bit more could have appeared if the story had more space.

[renay]

I don't think it's an unpopular opinion! I also wanted it to be longer, although now I guess they're exploring the things that went underdeveloped/unexplored in the sequels coming out soon. I feel torn on this because I like some of the series being put out through the Tor novella line but in some cases the ideas would just flat out work better in a full-sized novel. But, money, money, money, etc.