Today I want to share with you guys the popular books that I haven't read! I narrowed my list down to 14 books but I definitely had plenty more, as well as who knows how many that I don't actually own so there may be a part 2 at some point in the future!

I hate giving up on a book, but saying that I will quite happily throw a book as far away from me as possible if the thought of it fills me with dread towards reading. I want to love reading. It's a hobby, not a chore, so I will not force my way through a book I am not liking just incase it gets better, because from experience they rarely do. 

I'm also not ashamed to admit a lot of my DNFs are arcs. 
I suppose when it comes down to it, if you've paid for a book you want to get your money's worth whereas for an arc it's no skin off your nose if you don't finish it and the likelihood is the publisher would rather have no review than a negative one. 

But, we're not here to discuss the pros and cons of dnfing, we're here for the books I did not finish!

I just sat and wrote a massive discussion about book piracy but after stepping away for a moment, I realised it was pointless.
There is never an excuse to steal books, and I'm not going to list reasons why. Wether you can or cannot afford books you do not get to have something just because you WANT it.

The reason this post is no longer a discussion is because it doesn't matter. People who are so set in their ways to steal a book because they want will do it. I can't help them. But what I can do is offer alternatives to those who don't have the opportunities to buy books that I do and just want to read.

If you're a booklover I guarantee at some point in your life you have uttered the words "I wish I could be paid to read books."
Of course, some booklovers do - editors and other publishing related jobs technically pay people to read stories all day! Even some bloggers get payment to promote a book they've been sent (hi, hello, publishers... I am willing to read for free - just send me the physical book!)

In all seriousness-ish, this got me thinking... what would be some amazing jobs for booklovers? Or rather, what jobs would we be incredible at... if they existed?

I love YA. I don't know what it is about books aimed at this demographic but they are both simple yet complext. Easy reads yet powerful, emotional. YA doesn't try to hide. It is what it is - it's not afraid to be itself. Adult books scare me. They try too hard to fit in a niche and if they aren't cheesy reads that verge on cringey they're big literary masterpieces full of big words nobody ever uses in real life and people read just to say 'I've read that, I'm so intelligient'. (Says the girl reading Les Miserables).

There are, however, a few good books out there that aren't YA. There are adult books that get it right. They haven't fogotten their purpose of telling a story and providing entertainment, and those are the books I want to praise today

In a few short hours 2017 will be over and soon we start afresh with our reading goals and goodreads challenges! 

Looking back at the first few books of the year, I can't believe it was only this year that I read 'Everything, Everything' but also, how was it not just a month ago that I picked up 'Caraval' and made it my first review? 

There's also things we aren't aware of when we read - the amount of pages, the number of male v female (v multiple authors, anthologies or gender neutral). So I want to take this time, my last post of 2017, to look over all my statistics for the year!

Unfortunately not every book you read will be one you enjoy and a lot of the time this isn't because they're bad, it's just they've been so hyped up that you feel somewhat let down. I know for a fact there are books on this list that people will not be happy with me for saying I didn't love it but that's just how it goes.

I want to express that I am not bashing these books or the work the authors have put in to them. Reading is subjective and one book that is a lifesaver to one person and they would go to the ends of the earth to protect is mediocre to another. Reading is subjective and we can't get upset because someone we don't know hates our favourite book - that's the beauty of reading. We all take something different from the story and that's what makes book blogging so much fun as it provides and insight into how one particular person took a book!

I am awful at keeping up with new releases - or rather, purchasing them and then not reading them. So for my 'Books of 2017' lists will be of books I have read rather than books that were released this year!

I want to start with the books I loved the most. The ones I fell in love with and will treasure forever. I somehow rated exactly 17 books 5 stars this year - okay, it was 18 but I'm couting two as one and you'll see why! - and I love lists that use the year for the number of items... that was confusing but you know what I mean: Top 17 of 2017 etc! Although I am sad we're creeping towards an unrealistic number for 'Top' lists, but that's a worry for another day!

There are so many new books coming out next year that sound incredible! Unfortunately, I can't read every single one of them. I'm aiming to really tackle my TBR next year so I have to keep book buying to a minimum - we'll see how that goes, huh?

I've gone through my 2018 shelf on goodreads, got rid of the ones I'm not that interested in and I still have 63 books on there... uhoh. 

My mind changes all the time and it's very likely the release of these books will come and I'll want nothing to do with them but right now these are the twelve books that I am most drawn to. Some I am more excited for and know I will buy the second I can (even if I need to ship them from the States!), others just sound interesting and have piqued my interest. 

Enough rambling - here we go!:

Christmas is my favourite time of the year. I love buying and giving gifts. I also love receiving gifts, as most of us do. However, I'm sure we've all been in the situation where someone doesn't know what to get you or feels that they haven't bought you enough and you end up with a bunch of items you have no need or use for.

I'm not going to lie... We really aren't easy creatures to buy for unless you know us well. I could suggest candles, treats, fluffy socks and the like but that's just what I like. So I have two suggestions for you. One is for the book lover, the other for the book writer. 

Gift Cards
Of course, you could buy books but unless you have a catalogue of your book lover's personal library this is a danger zone. I would love to receive random books that someone else picked out for me without a list but my mum is the only person with a remote sense of the books I like and even then if we're shopping she always picks up books I own or have read. She gets a list of about a hundred books to choose from instead. She hates it. 
Your best bet is a gift card. A £10 Waterstone's gift card can get someone two books on the Buy-One-Get-One-Half-Price offer (with about £1 extra to pay) so this is ideal! They also get a stamp on the loyalty card taking them a step closer to another ten pounds off so it's a win-win! 

Scrivener
This is an incredible gift for the writer in your life. It can seem a tad daunting at first but this piece of software has been invaluable to my writing experience in the short few weeks I've had it. 
This is the most expensive item on this list at about £40 but it is something any writer would love to have and I highly recommend it. I would say you make the suggestion to them first that you would buy them this and have them play about with the trial for a bit to get to grips and see if they like it but ughhh I adore Scrivener and it is 100% the best purchase I have made in a long time!

And that's it. I've tried to write this post a bunch of times but I was just reiterating what every other bookish gift guide states and I'm fed up being told to buy mugs or pillows. A gift card is the only bookish gift you can get me and know I will 100% use and love. 

I also want to apologise for my abscence lately. I've been super busy with life and trying to plan for 2018 blogging! I've got a tonne of ARCs to read for reviewing in January - none of which I have even started yet! Ahh! - and I'm trying to give myself a bit of a relaxing end to the shitty year I've had so, once again, please bear with me! 2018 is looking fabulous!