My Favorite Books of 2017
(Book List à la Ann)
At the end
of 2016, I set a lofty goal on GoodReads to finish 50 books in 2017. It seemed
absurd that I would manage to read almost a book a week, yet somehow, I ended
up with 53 titles under my belt. I guess it’s obvious. I love to read. I
audiobook when I’m emptying the dishwasher, folding laundry, going on a long
run alone. I read early in the morning with my coffee, I read on vacation, on
public transportation, at the doctor’s office. I read when I have insomnia. I
also read to avoid what I’m supposed to be doing…my own writing. But there’s
just so much incredible fiction out there, and not nearly enough time to get to
it all. I am awed and inspired by these authors.
So, for my
friends and family who often ask me for book recommendations, here’s what I
enjoyed this year!
My Top Five-Star Picks of the
Year:
Most of these are literary
fiction = more serious reads, heavier topics, and BEAUTIFUL writing. I mean it.
Seriously beautiful writing.
Top Three (can’t decide what
order)
Try being gay in Ireland in 1960. Or 1945. Or 1990. This
book is so amazing, I can’t do it justice in any kind of description. Some of
the best dialogue I’ve ever read and what
compelling characters! I feel like I know them, that we’re friends now. Maybe
they’ll have lunch with me.
Another book that starts in the 1940s. Independent,
strong female main character. Jennifer Egan can zing you with her word choices.
“Showy beauty was an invitation to dependence.” One of my favorite lines of the
book.
Family drama and deep issues in a small, upscale suburban
town. Adoption, art, keeping up appearances—it’s all in there.
The Rest of the Five Star Pack
“Story of all that lies beneath our everyday lives-a story
about the pursuit of love, art, and money, and the inevitable reckoning that
awaits us all.”
Sooooo good, and sad. Justin Campbell disappears at age
11, but his family never stops
looking for him. Four years later, their wishes come true
and Justin returns home. But adapting is tricky for everyone. Deep, lovely,
moving.
Homegoing
— Yaa Gyasi
“This sweeping family saga encompasses seven generations
of descendants of a Fante and his captured Asante house slave.”
Brilliant.
Brit
Marie Was Here — Fredrik Backman
This is by the author of A Man Called Ove and it’s got the same
bare-bones, no-nonsense quality of writing with a touching center beneath it
all. It’s a “heartwarming story about a woman rediscovering herself
after a personal crisis.” Not women’s fiction, though. Men would
definitely enjoy this book.
Short Story Collections:
Perfect for
that little reading session before bed, a short plane ride, or a Sat morning.
Just the right bite of beautiful fiction to start or end a day or fill a quiet
space in the middle…
“In
the tradition of Richard Ford, Annie Proulx, and Kent Haruf comes a dazzling
debut story collection by a young writer from the American West who has been
published in The New Yorker,
Granta, and The Best American Short Stories.”
To this irresistible debut collection of short stories,
Richard Russo brings the same bittersweet wit, deep knowledge of human nature,
and spellbinding narrative gifts that distinguish his best-selling novels. His
themes are the imperfect bargains of marriage; the discoveries and
disillusionments of childhood;the unwinnable battles men and women insist on
fighting with the past.
Looking to Re-Read a Classic?
All
Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque
I had never
read this and I can’t believe I waited so long to get to it. This novel is
written from the German perspective in WWI. From Amazon, “This is
the testament of Paul Bäumer, who enlists with his classmates in the German
army during World War I. They become soldiers with youthful enthusiasm. But the
world of duty, culture, and progress they had been taught breaks in pieces
under the first bombardment in the trenches.”
Middle Grade/Young Adult:
Click’d
– Tamara Ireland Stone (I personally
know this Rock Star author!)
Powerful
girl coders unite! Tamara has a way of creating characters you wish you knew in
real life. Very engaging middle grade novel. (Not to be missed are her other
works, Every Last Word, Time Between Us and Time After Time!) AND, lucky us,
she has a new book coming out soon as well.
Complicated
romance between two high school misfits. Funny, sad, lovely. Adult themes.
Inspired by the
Black Lives Matter movement, this story really takes a look at the effects
in a community of violence between police and citizens.
Notable Fiction (four stars):
Science
Fiction story about time travel. Extremely original, complex and fun. Good for
teens too. Some people on GoodReads loved this book—some hated it. I enjoyed
it.
Messud’s
writing is gorgeous. The story just dragged on a little for me in this…but the
writing is worth it!
“Claire
Messud's piercing second novel asks questions most are too fearful to face.
Moving between the South of France, the East Coast of the U.S., and Algeria, The Last Life explores the weight of isolation
and exile in one French family.”
Novel of
linked short stories that follow the occupants of a Massachusetts house over the
span of 200 years. Beautiful, magical writing. But that’s Hoffman for you.
Great
Small Things — Jodi Picoult
“Jodi
Picoult’s Small Great Things is about racism, choice, fear, and hope. The novel is based on the true
story of a labor and delivery nurse who was prohibited from caring for a
newborn because the father requested that no African-American nurses tend to
his baby.”
“One
Sunday afternoon in Southern California, Bert Cousins shows up at Franny
Keating’s christening party uninvited. Before evening falls, he has kissed
Franny’s mother, Beverly—thus setting in motion the dissolution of their
marriages and the joining of two families.”
Good Vacation/Beach Reads
Light, Fun,
Engaging Stories perfect for those days when you aren’t looking for some heavy,
serious reading.
Cute and
well-written contemporary office romance. Fun premise.
Not super
light, but very engaging… “Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown
into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are
assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly
realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility’s cruel director, Rill
fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and
uncertainty.”
Stay-at-home
mom or Madam for high class call girls? Great story about a business woman…I stumbled upon this by
accident (thanks Book Bub!) and enjoyed reading it on my vacation.
Get reading. There is so much beauty here...Enjoy!
