1st Semester Independent Reading Reflection

Happy New Year!

Before I explain anything, let me list out all the books I've read this semester (all 42 of them!):

Dumplin' - Julie Murphy
The Lifeboat Clique - Kathy Parks
Catching Jordan - Miranda Kenneally
This is Where it Ends - Marieke Nijkamp
Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell
Stealing Parker - Miranda Kenneally
Things I Can't Forget - Miranda Kenneally
Breathe, Annie, Breathe - Miranda Kenneally
Racing Savannah - Miranda Kenneally
Jesse's Girl - Miranda Kenneally
Defending Taylor - Miranda Kenneally
The Comeback Season - Jennifer E. Smith
Until Friday Night - Abbi Glines
Open Road Summer - Emery Lord
Under the Lights - Abbi Glines
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
An Ember in the Ashes - Sabaa Tahir
A Torch Against the Night - Sabaa Tahir
The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman
The Iron Trial - Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
The Copper Gauntlet - Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
This Adventure Ends - Emma Mills
Holding Up the Universe - Jennifer Niven
The Female of the Species - Mindy McGinnis
Hyperbole and a Half - Allie Brosh
When the Moon was Ours - Anna-Marie McLemore
The Bronze Key - Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
Everyone We've Been - Sarah Everett
One Was Lost - Natalie D. Richards
Love and Other Unknown Variables - Shannon Lee Alexander
The Night We Said Yes - Lauren Gibaldi
Autofocus - Laruen Gibaldi
One Moment - Kristina McBride
A Million Times Goodnight - Kristina McBride
Summer of Supernovas - Darcy Woods
Twelfth Night - William Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night's Dream - William Shakespeare
Life After Juliet - Shannon Lee Alexander
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Macbeth - William Shakespeare
The Sun is Also a Star - Nicola Yoon

If you've looked through my posts recently, you might see some books mentioned on this list that have their own post. That's because, even though this blog isn't required for me for English anymore, I took this awesome class called Bestsellers, where all we did was read and talk about the books we read. So I did a lot of fun blog posts about books I read for that class, and those books are buried in that list somewhere.

The tail end of this year was so fun because I read a lot of wonderful YA Fiction books (some that had come out recently, some that hadn't) and I expanded my horizon to include some Shakespeare, and I'm actually reading Charles Dickens and Edgar Allan Poe soon.

There were a lot of great books here. One that I think everyone should read is Mindy McGinnis's The Female of the Species, because it's really well-written and the message is universal and something everyone (and I mean literally everyone) should get.

The one that surprised me the most was Life After Juliet by Shannon Lee Alexander. I really loved how much I related to "Juliet", whose name is really Becca, and the unexpected lead of Juliet in the play. I loved all the characters, really, and they all felt very real to me. I was surprised by it because the "first" book (they could be considered companions, really, but it would just make sense to read the "first" book first) was not my favorite book in the whole world. I felt the exact opposite about the characters, but I was pleasantly surprised by the second book, and that's all that matters.

I think if I had to say one books that I didn't like, Shakespeare would be the obvious choice, but I enjoyed those books a lot. They were just extremely hard to read. No, my least favorite book would have been Everyone We've Been by Sarah Everett. It pains me to say that I don't like books, because I usually love all of them so much, but I just couldn't stand beside this one. It had a great concept, but I didn't agree with the characters at all, and found myself unable to empathize with them. I finished it, and I could only barely see why they did what they did. Either way, if Sarah Everett wrote another book, I would give it a shot.

I would also like to quickly point out that even though I don't like it, doesn't mean you won't like it either. If the book sounds interesting to you, then give it a shot! My thoughts are just opinions, and I believe that books are the most wonderful things, even if they weren't my favorite.

Among the best I've read, there's Nicola Yoon's The Sun is Also a Star, Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl and Darcy Woods's Summer of Supernovas. They're all wonderful books, though, and if you have time, the links take you to the same places they always have: the author link takes you to their website, and the book link takes you to Goodreads.

Speaking of Goodreads, who's met their goal? My 2016 Reading Goal was 105 books (at first it was 100, but I boosted it a little) and I am proud to say that I have surpassed that goal by reading 110. My Goodreads profile name is NatalieM22, so if you want to check out all the great books I have read and want to read, totally check it out! In 2017, I want to read 125, which still feels really high, but I think I can do it.

If you don't have a Goodreads account and you're an avid reader, I implore you, it's one of the best accounts I have and so helpful in keeping a list of all the books I want to read. If you do have a Goodreads, you should set a Reading Goal, because that keeps you reading even when life gets busy. To those who already have both, then good luck on your Reading Goal! I know you'll make it.

I think my most anticipated books of 2017 include Cassandra Clare's Lord of Shadows and Emily Henry's a Million Junes. I think I might do a blog post about my most anticipated books, so stay tuned if you want to hear more!

Again, have a happy New Year, and I hope all of you have a wonderful first day, first week, and first month of the year!