For the past five years, I’ve been keeping track of every book that I read, with the goal of reading one book per week. The list is tracked in a tab at the top of this page, called “Reading List.” Every year, I’ve gotten closer to my goal, but I still didn’t quite make it in 2017. Even so, this was the year that it finally felt like my reading goals were firmly cemented into my daily practice, so that’s something to celebrate.

The other thing that I like to do at the close of the year is to take stock of the books that I’ve read, and note what caught my interest this year. How have my tastes changed? What remained the same? What genres am I drawn to? Etc. I’m glad that I’ve been keeping track, because it turns out that my tastes have actually changed quite drastically. Up until about five years ago, I only read fantasy and horror, with the occasional foray into medieval historical fiction. As I started pushing myself to read more, I noticed that while my love of medieval fiction never waned, I began to find fantasy tedious. (The jury is still out on horror.)

This year, I read a considerable amount of non-fiction (mostly memoirs), and spent a delicious couple of months exploring Viking warfare in Saxon England with a fictional series by Bernard Cornwell. Exactly half of the books on my list had a female protagonist. Almost half took place in Great Britain or Ireland. Over 60% focused in some way on spirituality or religion. Here’s the full list:

1. Wishful Drinking, by Carrie Fisher (1/10/17)
2. A Vision of Light, by Judith Merkle Riley (1/12/17)
3. In Pursuit of the Green Lion, by Judith Merkle Riley (1/21/17)
4. Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner, by Judy Melinek, M.D. & T.J. Mitchell (1/22/17)
5. Plain and Simple: A Woman’s Journey to the Amish, by Sue Bender (1/26/17)
6. The Water Devil, by Judith Merkle Riley (1/31/17)
7. Résistance: Memoirs of Occupied France, by Agnes Humbert (2/5/17)
8. The Reader, by Bernhard Schlink (2/5/17)
9. The Boy at the Gate, by Danny Ellis (2/18/17)
10. Stray Bullets, Vol. 1: Innocence of Nihilism, by David Lapham (2/19/17)
11. Shockaholic, by Carrie Fisher (2/23/17)
12. The Princess Diarist, by Carrie Fisher (2/25/17)
13. The Color of Magic, by Terry Pratchett (2/28/17)
14. The Macha of Chira: Confessions of an Anthropologist, by Ethelyn G. Orso (3/6/17)
15. The Three Weissmanns of Westport, by Cathleen Schine (3/12/17)
16. The Marvelous Misadventures of Ingrid Winter, by J.S. Drangsholt (3/17/17)
17. In Praise of the Bees, by Kristin Gleeson (3/18/17)
18. Mercer Girls, by Libbie Hawker (3/20/17)
19. Wild, by Cheryl Strayed (5/17/17)
20. Solid State, by Jonathan Coulton, Matt Fraction, and Albert Monteys (8/10/17)
21. The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act, by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Matt Wilson (8/12/17)
22. The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 2: Fandemonium, by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Matt Wilson (8/12/17)
23. The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 3, by Kieron Gillen, Brandon Graham, Clayton Cowles, Jamie McKelvie, Kate Brown, Leila Del Duca, Mat Lopes, Matt Wilson, Stephanie Hans, Tula Lotay, and Jamie McKelvie (8/12/17)
24. The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 4: Rising Action, by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Matt Wilson (8/12/17)
25. The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 5: Imperial Phase (1), by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Matt Wilson (8/14/17)
26. Bitch Planet, Vol. 2: President Bitch, by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Taki Soma, Valentine De Landro, and Kelly Fitzpatrick (8/14/17)
27. Seven to Eternity, Vol. 1, by Rick Remender, Jerome Opeña, and Matt Hollingsworth (8/14/17)
28. P.S. from Paris, by Marc Levy (8/14/17)
29. Call the Nurse: True Stories of a Country Nurse on a Scottish Isle, by Mary J. McLeod (8/25/17)
30. How Not to Run a B&B, by Bobby Hutchinson (8/27/17)
31. A Thousand Days in Venice, by Marlena di Blasi (9/5/17)
32. Jack and Rochelle: A Holocaust Story of Love and Resistance, by Jack and Rochelle Sutin (9/9/17)
33. The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Tales, #1), by Bernard Cornwell (9/16/17)
34. The Pale Horseman (The Saxon Tales, #2), by Bernard Cornwell (9/19/17)
35. Lords of the North (The Saxon Tales, #3), by Bernard Cornwell (9/26/17)
36. Sword Song: The Battle for London (The Saxon Tales, #4), by Bernard Cornwell (9/30/17)
37. The Burning Land (The Saxon Tales, #5), by Bernard Cornwell (10/4/17)
38. Death of Kings (The Saxon Tales, #6), by Bernard Cornwell (10/8/17)
39. The Pagan Lord: A Novel (The Saxon Tales, #7), by Bernard Cornwell (10/22/17)
40. The Empty Throne (The Saxon Tales, #8), by Bernard Cornwell (10/31/17)
41. Warriors of the Storm (The Saxon Tales, #9), by Bernard Cornwell (11/7/17)
42. The Flame Bearer (The Saxon Tales, #10), by Bernard Cornwell (11/17/17)
43. Bad Things, by Tamara Thorne (12/3/17)
44. Angela’s Ashes, by Frank McCourt (12/17/17)
45. ‘Tis, by Frank McCourt (12/26/17)
46. The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett (12/27/17)
47. For One More Day, by Mitch Albom (12/30/17)
48. The Gift of Story, by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D. (12/30/17)

Overall, I am proud of my efforts this year, if a little disappointed that I couldn’t fit just four more books in. But that just gives me reason to try again next year, right?

If you’re interested in seeing a breakdown of I read last year and the year before, click here to visit What I Read in 2016.