It’s hard to just pick a few things we loved about this year. We are always in awe of the amazing books, people and work that surround us all the time. So join us in celebrating some of the best of 2017!

A few of our favorite events…

Summer Reading Challenge 2017

We say it every year, but every year it’s true… this year was the biggest SRC ever! Paula Hawkins, author of international bestseller The Girl on the Train, was this year’s Summer Reading Challenge host. Check out all the amazing coverage, celebrity sightings and social media shares here.

BookSparks Book Club

This year, BookSparks kicked off the BookSparks Book Club. Every month we pick a hot new read and dish over it with all our favorite book lovers. We’ve partnered with Speak Wines to deliver a line of book club-inspired wines:

With our sixth and last book pick of the year, we also had another BookSparks first when we hosted a Facebook LIVE book club chat with the author of Perfectly Undone, Jamie Raintree. You can watch the live event here.

 

Talbots

This year, BookSparks partnered with national retailer, Talbots, and set up a “Blind Date with a Book” campaign in eight stores in Houston and Dallas, Texas.

The Walking Read

This year, we launched a super spooky YA reading challenge where we encouraged our readers to read seven young adult books in seven days. They all became book zombies and we were spellbound by their incredible Instagram shots during #WalkingRead2017.

Pop Up Blog Tours

This year, our book reviews had some real POP! We introduced a new type of blog tour where books “pop up” and reviewers all scramble to get their hands on hot seasonal reads. Check out the cute accompanying videos that make these tours irresistible.

If you’re a book blogger, Bookstagrammer or BookTuber, keep your eyes peeled for some exciting announcements in 2018! We’ll be forming an exclusive BookSparks book reviewer Facebook group where you can get the scoop on all our upcoming challenges, giveaways and more.

A few of our favorite media hits…

Every week we gush over our authors’ big wins in the BookSparks Friday Five feature.

This year, there was some outstanding coverage! Authors were spotted on the Entertainment Weekly MUST LIST, chosen as “Skimm Reads,” featured in the New York Times, on The TODAY Show and sooooo much more.

If you missed our incredible coverage during our record-breaking summer, be sure to check out our 300th Friday Five.

A few of our favorite book to movie/TV events…

We are so lucky to work with incredible authors during some major career news. This year, some authors got their books optioned and others had books produced into amazing on-screen performances.

HBO’s Big Little Lies

We all binged BLL on HBO Spring of this year. Getting the chance to work with the Big Little Lies author, Liane Moriarty, on her paperback release of Truly Madly Guilty in the midst of her HBO series’ massive success was a thrill to say the least.

Lifetime’s Adaptation of You

Last year we all poured over client Caroline Kepnes‘ thriller novel You and helped launch Hidden Bodies. This year we were thrilled to learn Lifetime would be developing You into a TV show.

Pretty Little Liars Finale

We began working with Pretty Little Liars author Sara Shepard in 2016 (on her new book The Amateurs and now her debut adult thriller The Elizas), but like all her PLL fans, we were sad to say goodbye to the massively successful show based on her previous books. Fear not, she has more great TV news and projects in the works.

Three Dark Crowns Optioned for Film

Kendare Blake‘s bestselling young adult novel Three Dark Crowns was optioned for film by FOX with “Arrival” (the Oscar-nominated film starring Amy Adams) and “Stranger Things” producer, Shawn Levy!

Toni Collette Options The Best of Adam Sharp

Academy Award-nominated Australian actress Toni Collette optioned Graeme Simsion’s The Best of Adam Sharp for the big screen!

A few of our favorite bookstagrammers…

We love our Bookstagrammers! It’s hard to pick favorites among our incredibly supportive and visually creative book lovers on Instagram, but here are a few favorites.

Out of the Bex

The way the light falls in this place ??? . . . It’s been a while since I used this teacup, but it looks too cute with this book to resist. After Midnight was a @talbotsofficial #blinddatewithabook pick this summer thanks to @booksparks – in my usual fashion, the only hints I will give you to its contents will be in blind-date-with-a-book form! . . . Forgotten past Determined future 1860s aristocracy Horse Racing Estranged sisters A devious exchange Reclamation . . . #coffee #booksandcoffee #booksandbeans #sunlight #aftermidnight #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks #igreads #astilllifestyle #storiesofmylife #ofquietmoments #flashesofdelight #aslowmovement #calmversation #hygge #booksihhygge #momentsofmine #bookphotography #bookstagramfeature #epicreads #reading #booklove #fiction #addictedtobooks #ilovebooks #goodreads #bookish #bibliophile

A post shared by Bex -Twitter: itsoutofthebex ? (@outofthebex) on Nov 3, 2017 at 6:35am PDT

the.blonde.bookworm

Feel like snuggling up on the couch with a good read? The Cottingley Secret is next on my list with the @booksparks fall reading challenge and I can’t wait to pick it up! #frc2017

A post shared by Alex ?? (@the.blonde.bookworm) on Nov 2, 2017 at 2:34pm PDT

lisa_lostinlit

✨G I V E A W A Y ✨ . I’m so excited to be a partnering with @jaxmiddleton_author to celebrate yesterday’s release of London, Can You Wait, book 2 in the London Belongs to Me Series! This series has been getting such awesome reviews so far! One of my faves, @reneecarlino1, called London, Can You Wait “A passionate, witty page-turner. Middleton has written a delightful and worldly novel with interesting characters and romantic twists and turns.” Yup, I’m sold. Can’t wait to dive in! ?? . I’m super excited to be able to share a copy of London, Can You Wait with one of you lucky duckies!! . ?TO ENTER: • Follow me (@lisa_lostinlit) & @jaxmiddleton_author. • Like this photo. • Tag three (real) friends in the comments who may be interested in this giveaway. . ?RULES: • Open Internationally! • Ends November 3rd at 8pm EST. • No giveaway or spam accounts. • Private accounts must be public to verify entries. • Winners will be announced by 11/5 on this post. • Prize will be shipping directly from the publisher. • Not endorsed by or affiliated with instagram. . (Psss… London Belongs to me, book 1, is currently $1.99 wherever ebooks are sold, so you can get a jumpstart on the series right away. ?) Good luck, friends!! ? ________________________________________________________ #londoncanyouwait #londonbelongstome #jacquelinemiddleton #giveaway #bookgiveaway #book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookphoto #bookphotography #bookish #flatlay #vintagevibes #tbr #goodreads #vscobooks #igreads #instareads

A post shared by Lisa ⚯͛⠀ོ☁︎ (@lisa_lostinlit) on Oct 27, 2017 at 4:47am PDT

eviebookish

Have you read THE BALANCE PROJECT yet? This was one of the picks for @talbotsofficial #blinddatewithabook series! This book has been called ‘a must read for any woman who’s struggled to find balance.’ which, if I’m being honest, makes it the perfect book for me ? . Susie Schnall next book, The Subway Girls, releases in July next year, but it’s already available for preorder! . Additionally, if you’re interested in reading The Balance Project, check out goodreads for the giveaway! . . ?synopsis: The Balance Project is a story of loyalty, choices, and balance that will resonate deeply with all women who struggle with this hot-button issue. . Loyal assistant Lucy Cooper works for Katherine Whitney, who seems to have it all: a high-powered job at a multibillion-dollar health and wellness lifestyle company, a successful husband, and two adorable daughters. Now, with the release of her book on work-life balance, Katherine has become a media darling and a hero to working women everywhere. In reality, though, Katherine’s life is starting to fall apart, and Lucy is the one holding it all together, causing her own life―and relationship with her boyfriend Nick―to suffer. When Katherine does something unthinkable to Lucy, Lucy must decide whether to change Katherine’s life forever or continue being her main champion. Her choice will affect the trajectory of both of their lives and lead to opportunities neither one could have imagined.

A post shared by Evie Seo (@eviebookish) on Oct 30, 2017 at 5:13pm PDT

thebookgawker

They weren’t kidding when they said this book was addictive. I started #emmainthenight yesterday and wrapped it up on my lunch break today. Wendy Walker’s latest psychological suspense is fast paced, intricately layered and full of those twisty plot lines, unlikeable characters and an unreliable narrator. It’s perfect for the upcoming weekend! Have you read it yet?! . . Want to know something cool? @booksparks Is hosting a live chat with the author, @wendygwalker tonight on twitter! It starts at 5pm pst – it’s an awesome way to get to know more about the book, the author and her writing process and of course have your lingering questions answered! Use #EITNchat to ask away! . . Thank you amazing @booksparks friends for sending me a copy of this book!! #booksparksbookclub

A post shared by WHITNEY (@thebookgawker) on Aug 29, 2017 at 3:21pm PDT