I said I wanted to read more books in 2017, I managed 43 in 2016.  Here’s a comprehensive list of all that I read, in order.  I beat my 52 target!

1. The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown –Love, love, love Brené Brown and her wisdom – this book is full of wisdom about living.

2. The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch – I really enjoy the Rivers of London books – just wish he could write them quicker, I need to re-read them before the next one as I can’t remember everything that’s happened.  A great mix of humour, London life, magic and mystery.

3. A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson – I can’t explain how good this and its sister book “Life After Life” is.  Fantastically written stories, I couldn’t put either of them down and became so invested in the characters.

4. Dead Cold by Louise Penny (part of the Inspector Gamache series)
5. The One-Hunded-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of The Window and Disappeard by Jonas Janasson – Everyone seemed to love this, I was a bit disappointed.  It was good, but I didn’t love it, I just didn’t feel that invested in the story or the character.

6. The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman – This was a recommended book from our pre-marriage counselling course and it was really interesting to learn our own love languages and know how to relate to each other better.

7. On Becoming a Person by Carl Rogers
8. The Cruellest Month by Louise Penny (part of the Inspector Gamache series)
9. The Manual of the Warior of Light by Paula Coelho
10. Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Gregory
11. The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory
12. The Person-Centred Counselling Primer by Pete Sands
13. Seven by Jen Hatmaker – This made me want to simplify my life and be less wasteful.  I really enjoyed the families’ experience of cutting down in 7 areas of their lives and seeing how living more simply affected them going forward.

14. Dibs, In Search of Self by Virginia M Axline – The best counselling book I read all year.

15. Late Fragments by Kate Gross – This was beautiful, written by a woman who was dying for her boys.

16. Five on Brexit Island by Enid Blyton
17. The Integrative Counselling Primer by Richard Worsley
18. Mad Girl by Bryony Gordon
19. The Murder Stone by Louise Penny (part of the Inspector Gamache series)
20. At Home in the World by Tsh Oxenrider – This was interesting – a family who travel for long periods with their kids to experience different cultures.  Perhaps it’s because we did a lot of travel as a family when I was a kid but it didn’t seem that new or unique to me!

21. My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
22. The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny (part of the Inspector Gamache series)
23. Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny (part of the Inspector Gamache series)
24. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
25. Nothing to Prove by Jennie Allen (read twice) – This really spoke to me about busyness, motivations, avoidance and living a Christ filled life.

26. The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck by Sarah Knight
27. The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Technically a children’s book but that has never stopped me from enjoying things and this was fantastic.  I loved it.

28. The Road Back to You (An Enneagram Journey to Self Discovery) By Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile
29. Play by Stuart Brown M.D – This was a fascinating read about play and how it shapes humans.

30. Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
31. For the Love by Jen Hatmaker
32. How the Light Gets in by Louise Penny (part of the Inspector Gamache series)
33. The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny (part of the Inspector Gamache series)
34. Trick of the Light by Louise Penny (part of the Inspector Gamache series)
35. The Marriage Book by Nicky & Sila Lee – Slightly old fashioned but enjoyable and informative all the same – some good pointers.

36. I’m Judging You by Luvvie Ajayi
37. The Valkyries by Paulo Coelho
38. Bittersweet by Shauna Niequest – This is a must read for anyone going through a season of loss.  I love Shauna and I find her writing so clarifying, her book Present Over Perfect was a favourite of mine in 2016.

39. Of Mess and Moxie by Jen Hatmaker – Jen is funny and smart, I laughed my way through this.

40. The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry – This was good – I enjoyed the story and the writing and the fact that it wasn’t all tied up with a pretty bow at the end.

41. The Little Book of Lykke by Meik Wiking
42. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
43. Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
44. Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
45. Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
46. Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
47. Harry Potter and The Order of the Pheonix by J.K. Rowling
48. Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
49. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling  – It goes without saying that I am a HUGE HP fan!

50. Falling Upward by Richard Rhor – I have another Richard Rhor book to read this year and cannot wait. This man seems to have so much wisdom and writes beautifully about what it means to live as a Christian in the 21^st centuary.

51. Snowed in for Christmas by Claire Sandy – A rom-com for which I had low expectations.  Better than I thought although I spotted the twist but I still enjoyed it.

52. The Enneagram by Rhor and Ebert – I really enjoyed learning about the Enneagram this year, I loved this book – I am definitely a “2” and feel the appropriate levels of shame about my number’s shadow side!  Workign on things!

53. The Magical Wolds of Harry Potter by David Colbert
54. Christmas at the Ragdoll Orphanage by Suzanne Lambert – Terrible.  Don’t read!

55. The Long Way Home by Louise Penny (part of the Inspector Gamache series) – I love this series so much and would recommend to anyone – it is crime fiction set in a small fictional village in Quebec called Three Pines.  I love all of the characters but especially Gamache.  Obviously.

So, aiming for 60 books in 2018…can it be done?!