2017 End of the Year Survey!

This is created and hosted by Perpetual Page Turner! I'm just doing the section on books read in 2017 this year.

Number Of Books You Read: 221
Number of Re-Reads: 6 (Thirteen Reasons Why, Shutter Island, Return to the Dark House (before reading the sequel), The Italian Secretary, Dracula, and The Westing Game
Genre You Read The Most From: Mystery/Psychological Suspense and/or Thriller

1. Best Book You Read In 2017?

Fiction:

  

Non-Fiction:

  

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

 3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?  

(This isn't a genre I usually read, but I loved it!)

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

5. Best series you started in 2017? 

Best Sequel of 2017? 

Best Series Ender of 2017?

(This ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, but unfortunately the author doesn't seem to have an intention to return to the series)

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2017?

Riley Sager

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

 8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

 9. Book You Read In 2017 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2017?

11. Most memorable character of 2017?

Quincy Carpenter, Final Girls

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2017?

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2017?

 14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2017 to finally read? 

 15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2017?

“As far as I'm concerned, you can't beat a good whodunnit: the twists and turns, the clues and the red herrings and then, finally, the satisfaction of having everything explained to you in a way that makes you kick yourself because you hadn't seen it from the start.” -Magpie Murders

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2017?

Shortest: 

Longest:

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

 

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

 Maddie/Olly (Everything, Everything) 

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year\

Sherlock Holmes & Dr. John Watson (The Whole Art of Detection)

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2017 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

21. Best Book You Read In 2017 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2017?

Olly (Everything, Everything)

23. Best 2017 debut you read?

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2017?

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2017?

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

(Such a great premise, but I did not like the writing at all)

Here's to a wonderful 2018 full of lots of reading!

Review Roundup : Bloodstains with Bronte, A Devious Death, and H.H. Holmes

I received ARCs of these books from the publishers in exchange for honest reviews. These did not affect my opinions of the books or my reviews themselves.

When the large home Emily has inherited is being renovated, she turns to Wuthering Heights to distract her from the noise and mess. Drawn into the story, Emily can't help but see a doomed love triangle playing out before her eyes involving her beloved housekeeper, Katie. When a murder mystery party brings matters to a head, Emily will do whatever it takes to protect Katie, including solving the mystery herself.

I liked this cozy mystery, but did not love it. The murder mystery party was a clever device, and I enjoyed the weaving in of a classic novel such as Wuthering Heights. But the plot device of every man who came into contact with Katie becoming obsessed with her wore thin very quickly, as did the choice to insert Katie's diary entries in first person into the chapters. The religious aspects of the story also seemed to come out of nowhere and were not integrated in well enough to justify their prominent position in the tale.

This was an okay read, but I don't think I will be rushing to pick up any more of the series.

In this cozy mystery, Lady Phoebe and her lady's maid, Eva, work to solve a murder that directly impacts Phoebe and her family. Inheritance disputes have brought Phoebe's warring relations to descend on the home Phoebe and her sister are visiting, and the arguments soon lead to murder.

Lady Phoebe and Eva are compelling and strong characters, and their relationship is a delight, as are the romances they find themselves in. The supporting cast are unique and interesting, and as a reader I found myself genuinely caring about the solution to the crime and who it would impact.

I'm not a huge fan of the book cover (I think it makes the book look more amateurish than it is), and the story did start out a little slow for my tastes, but this was a fun cozy in a series I could see myself revisiting.

This book was absolutely fascinating, and impeccably researched. I have read a lot of books on H.H. Holmes, and thought I knew all there was to know, but I was wrong--and I was glad to be proved wrong by Selzer's excellent tome.

What was particularly fascinating and impressive was how deftly Selzer disputed the myths and legends about Holmes that almost everyone (including myself) had taken for fact. Selzer has more than done his research, and this book provides a masterful overview of every aspect of the Holmes' tale. I highly recommend this book for true crime readers, and those who want to know the truth behind the tales.

2018 Popsugar Challenge, and Netgalley and Edelweiss Challenge!

2018 Popsugar Reading Challenge

1. A book made into a movie you've already seen: Vertigo by Pierre Boileau
2. True Crime: Mary Jane's Ghost by Ted Gregory
3. The next book in a series you started: The Sayers Swindle by Victoria Abbot
4. A book involving a heist: Priceless by Robert K. Wittman
5. Nordic noir: The Bat by Jo Nesbo
6. A novel based on a real person: Crippen by John Boyne
7. A book set in a country that fascinates you: Adam and Eve and Pinch Me by Ruth Rendell
8. A book with a time of day in the title:  Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor 
9. A book about a villain or antihero: The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
10. A book about death or grief: Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
11. A book with a female author who uses a male pseudonym: The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
12. A book with an LGBTQ+ protagonist: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
13. A book that is also a stage play or musical: Carrie by Stephen King
14. A book by an author of a different ethnicity than you: God Help the Child by Toni Morrison
15. A book about feminism: A Girl's Guide to Joining the Resistance by Emma Gray
16. A book about mental health: Monkey Mind by Daniel Smith
17. A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift: Life Inside My Mind edited by Jessica Burkhart
18. A book by two authors: The Man From the Train by Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James
19. A book about or involving a sport: One Goal by Amy Bass
20. A book by a local author: Lady Killers by Tori Telfer
21. A book with your favorite color in the title: Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Nina Samkovitch
22. A book with alliteration in the title: Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien
23. A book about time travel: Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler
24. A book with a weather element in the title: Snowed in with Murder by Auralee Wallace
25. A book set at sea: Life of Pi by Yann Martel
26. A book with an animal in the title: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
27. A book set on a different planet: Bindi by Nnedi Okorafor
28. A book with song lyrics in the title: Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley
29. A book about or set on Halloween: Gossamer Ghost by Laura Childs
30. A book with characters who are twins: She was the Quiet One by Michele Campbell
31. A book mentioned in another book: The General's Daughter by Nelson DeMille
32. A book from a celebrity book club: The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
33. A childhood classic you've never read: An Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott
34. A book that's published in 2018: The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
35. A past Goodreads Choice Awards winner: Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
36. A book set in the decade you were born: American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
37. A book you meant to read in 2017 but didn't get to: Looking for Alaska by John Green
38. A book with an ugly cover: The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
39. A book that involves a bookstore or library: A Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zebin
40. Your favorite prompt from the 2015, 2016, or 2017 POPSUGAR Reading Challenges: A mystery or thriller: Spinsters in Jeopardy by Ngaio Marsh

2018 Popsugar Advanced Reading Challenge

1. A bestseller from the year you graduated high school: The Inner Circle by T.C. Boyle
2. A cyberpunk book: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick
3. A book that was being read by a stranger in a public place: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
4. A book tied to your ancestry: Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay
5. A book with a fruit or vegetable in the title: Seven Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney
6. An allegory: The Name of the Rose by Umbero Eco
7. A book by an author with the same first or last name as you: Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead
8. A microhistory: The Murder of Helen Jewett by Patricia Cline Cohen
9. A book about a problem facing society today: The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich
10. A book recommended by someone else taking the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson 

2018 Netgalley and Edelweiss Challenge
I'm going for the Gold Level, 50 books!
1) Another One Bites the Crust by Ellie Alexander
2) Lie With Me by Sabine Durrant
3) Right Behind You by Lisa Gardner
4) A Whisper of Bones by Ellen Hart
5) Grit by Gillian French
6) Into the Thinnest of Air by Simon R. Green
7) Stowed Away by Barbara Ross
8) The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
9) The Marmalade Murders by Elizabeth J. Duncan
10) Down the Aisle with Murder by Auralee Wallace
11) Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien
12) Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton
13) Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris
14) Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage
15) Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman
16) Her Pretty Face by Robyn Harding
17) Somebody's Daughter by David Bell
18) Believe Me by J.P. Delaney
19) She Was the Quiet One by Michele Campbell
20) The Party by Robyn Harding
21) The Prisoner in the Castle by Susan Elia MacNeal
22) After the Fire by Will Hill
23) A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell
24)
25)
26)
27)
28)
29)
30)
31)
32)
33)
34)
35)
36)
37)
38)
39)
40)
41)
42)
43)
44)
45)
46)
47)
48)
49)
50)

Review: The Inkblots: Hermann Rorschach, His Iconic Test, and the Power of Seeing

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

This is an absolutely fascinating read. Searls has more than done his research, actually gaining access to materials no one else had been able to use before. This allowed him to create an incredibly comprehensive and well-rounded account of Rorschach himself, how his inkblots came to be, and what they have meant for society throughout the years.

Searls shows all sides of the famous test, from the positives to the negatives. He uses real world examples to bring home just how impactful those seemingly-simple (though actually complex) inkblots can be. Through discussions of how the use of and belief in Rorschach's test has changed, Searls allows his readers to see how nothing is infallible or perfect---but also how some marks on a paper have the potential to give humanity great insights into themselves and the world around them.

I did occasionally have trouble completely understanding a few of the sections where things got very scientific. But this did not take away from my enjoyment of a unique and fascinating story.

Cruisin' Thru the Cozies 2018!

For  2018, I will be going for Level Three: Super Sleuth, which means reading 30 cozy mysteries of my choice!

1) Another One Bites the Crust by Ellie Alexander
2) Let's Play Dead by Sheila Connolly
3) Muffin to Fear by Victoria Hamilton
4) Gossamer Ghost by Laura Childs
5) Dead Girls Don't Wear Diamonds by Nancy Martin
6) Stowed Away by Barbara Ross
7) Snowed in with Murder by Auralee Wallace
8) The Marmalade Murders by Elizabeth J. Duncan
9) Ring in the Year with Murder by Auralee Wallace
10) Down the Aisle with Murder by Auralee Wallace
11) Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien
12) The Body in the Casket by Katherine Hall Page
13) Murder on Millionaire's Row by Erin Lindsey
14) The Sayers Swindle by Victoria Abbot
15)
16)
17)
18)
19)
20)
21)
22)
23)
24)
25)
26)
27)
28)
29)
30)

Mount TBR 2018!

Alright, I've decided to go for it, and try for Mt. Olympus this year, which means 150 books off my physical TBR bookshelves! I didn't quite make 100 off my TBR shelves this past year, but in 2018 I really want to focus on reading books I already own. (Just a note that this will include books that may not come out until 2018, but that I have a physical  ARC copy of on my bookshelves prior to January 1, 2018.)

1) Monkey Mind by Daniel Smith
2) Just Between Us by Rebecca Drake (ARC on shelf in 2017)
3) God Help the Child by Toni Morrison
4) The Girl Next Door by Brad Parks
5) Under the Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald
6) Nancy Drew: The Secret Within Book One by Stefan Petrucha and Sarah Kinney
7) Lady Killers by Tori Telfer
8) Whiskey Sour by J.A. Konrath
9) Troublemaker by Leah Remini
10) The Devils You Know by M.C. Atwood
11) Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart
12) Spinsters in Jeopardy by Ngaio Marsh
13) The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne
14) Good as Gone by Amy Gentry
15) Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner
16) Let's Play Dead by Sheila Connolly
17) Wolf by Kelly Oliver
18) The Bad Seed by William March
19) Priceless by Robert K. Wittman
20) The Greek Coffin Mystery by Ellery Queen
21) Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
22) Nancy Drew Diaries #9: The Secret Within Part Two by Stefan Petruchka and Sarah Kinney
23) Dead Girls Don't Wear Diamonds by Nancy Martin
24) The Man From the Train by Bill James
25) Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan
26) The Blind by A.F. Brady
27) Lies She Told by Cate Holahan
28) Lie to Me by J.T. Ellison
29) Jack the Ripper by Francois DeBois and Jean-Charles Poupard
30) The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
31) Ring in the Year with Murder by Auralee Wallace
32) The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
33) The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle
34) Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender
35) The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
36) Welcome to Nightvale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor
37) Jack the Ripper by Bruce Balfour
38) Sherlock Holmes: Crime Alleys by Sylvain Cordune and Nespolino Alessandro
39) Adam and Eve and Pinch Me by Ruth Rendell
40) Malice by Keigo Higashino
41) Mysterious America by Loren Coleman
42) Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
43) Looking for Alaska by John Green
44) The Complete Dracula by Leah Moore
45) The Sayers Swindle by Victoria Abbot
46) The Bat by Jo Nesbo
47) Lore: Monstrous Creatures by Aaron Mahnke
48) Crippen by John Boyne
49)
50)
51)
52)
53)
54)
55)
56)
57)
58)
59)
60)
61)
62)
63)
64)
65)
66)
67)
68)
69)
70)
71)
72)
73)
74)
75)
76)
77)
78)
79)
80)
81)
82)
83)
84)
85)
86)
87)
88)
89)
90)
91)
92)
93)
94)
95)
96)
97)
98)
99)
100)
101)
102)
103)
104)
105)
106)
107)
108)
109)
110)
111)
112)
113)
114)
115)
116)
117)
118)
119)
120)
121)
122)
123)
124)
125)
126)
127)
128)
129)
130)
131)
132)
133)
134)
135)
136)
137)
138)
139)
140)
141)
142)
143)
144)
145)
146)
147)
148)
149)
150)

Review: Close to Me

Title: Closer to Me
Author: Amanda Reynolds
Publication Date: December 5, 2017
Genre: Psychological Suspense
Recommended If You Like: secrets from the past, domestic drama

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

The Book:

Jo Harding fell down the stairs a year ago, but to her, it was just minutes ago. She's lost memories of the whole last year of her life, and it actually seems her family might be happy about that fact. As Jo works to recover her memory, she comes to realize some hard truths about herself and the life she thought she had.

What I Liked:

I'm always interested in a book with secrets from the past coming to light, and this read definitely had plenty of those. When a whole year is gone, there is so much to uncover, and Reynolds does a good job of making those secrets come to light in a suspenseful way. Readers learn things right along with Jo, which makes her an even more crucial and realistic narrator.

Anything I Didn't Like?

This book felt really slow at parts. Despite its intriguing premise, I had trouble sticking with it at times. It wasn't bad by any means, but I think some editing to tighten it up and take away some of the repetitious nature would have been a positive.

So...?

This is a fine book, good even, but not a great one. There are a lot of other books in this genre I would recommend you pick up first.