2016 Year In Review

What an amazing year it’s been!   I completed my 2016 reading challenge with over 150+ books read this year (reading all of those books was the easy part.  Writing all of those reviews is another story!) Since  I started Mystereity Reviews in May I have been blessed to meet so many wonderful bloggers and authors.  You all inspire me with your great books and stellar reviews!

It was actually Chelsea @TheSuspenseIsThrillingMe who inspired me to start a blog after she started posting links to her blog in her reviews on Goodreads.  I thought, “Hey! I could do that too!” and off I went.  I like having a “identity” to my reviews and after so much trouble with the Booklikes site, I decided it would be good to have my own blog so I wouldn’t have to worry if a site was inaccessible, and also so that I could be in charge of my own content..  And so here I am, a WordPress Junkie, peddling my book review wares.

At the time I started the blog, I really didn’t expect much attention, maybe a few friends and relatives stopping by to see my reviews.  I had no idea what a warm community of bloggers I’d find.  You have all  raised the bar on book reviewing, and as a result, I stepped up my review game, writing better and more entertaining reviews.  Thank you all for your inspiration, your friendship and your support.  Every one of you have taught me so much, and you’re what makes blogging so enjoyable.

I was also fortunate enough to “meet” so many great authors this year, including the fantastic Diana Febry, and the incomparable Russ Atkinson to the hilarious Barbara Venkataraman, and so many more than I could mention.  I love that this blog has opened my eyes to so many great authors!

And 2016 brought me so many great books, it was easy to meet my reading goal.  I fell in love with Marty Wingate’s  Potting Shed series and Angie Fox’s Southern Ghost Hunter series and read each series to date in just a few days..  A Deadly Thaw and The Swap kept me on the edge of my seat, and I even read a book about butter.  Yes, you read that right, I read a book about butter, and enjoyed it!

I think the one book that impacted me most is Memory of Muskets by Kathleen Ernst.   The story-within-a-story about Roelke’s relatives will stay with me for some time.   Maybe it’s because this crabby ol’ grinch has a heart after all, or maybe it’s just because my relatives also emigrated from Germany around the same time, but it hit me right square in the feels, and is my most memorable read of 2016.

In 2017, I will have a new reading goal of 150 books (at the top of the list to read first is The Memory Box and Juggling Kittens.  Beyond that, there’s  several new books in some of my favorite series coming out in 2017, including the new Hat Shop Mystery, Assault and Beret and the new Murder-By-Month, March of Crimes.  Can’t wait!

Besides my reading goal, one New Years resolution I’m going to make is to be more prompt with my reviews, and also to interact more with the many wonderful bloggers I follow.

And so, as this year comes to a close, I wish everyone a healthy, happy and prosperous 2017 and here’s to cracking open many great new books!