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I read 111 books in 2017.
111.
I can’t even tell you how much joy that number brings me. It was the best year of reading that I can ever remember. It brought me so much happiness and made me such a better person.
I’ve covered the HOW DO YOU FIND THE TIME TO READ SO MUCH? question many, many times. But it boils down to this. I read really fast, I sometimes neglect other things (TV series, a clean house) to read, I stay up too late, and I have a book with me everywhere I go. It’s like breathing to me. So that’s the short answer.
So narrowing that number down to my favorite few is really, really hard. So hard that I’ve been working on this post longer than I want to admit.
Before I share this list I want to tell you a few things.
*These books are in no particular order.
*I’m not limiting myself to a “top 10” or “top 5”. I just chose all of the books that I loved and I’m still thinking about.
*They cover all topics and don’t all fit in the same mold. I am NOT a snobby reader and I don’t discriminate. I believe that a good “chick lit” type read can be just as satisfying as a New York Times Book Review top 10 read.
*All of these books were not written or published in 2017. But I read all of them in 2017.
*We don’t all have the same tastes and that’s what makes the world AWESOME. Just because I loved these books doesn’t mean you will like them at all. You don’t have to tell me if you hated a book I loved. I mean you can but it’s not necessary.
I would not have found any of these books without:
- Goodreads
- The public library
- Book of the Month Club
You will see that many books on this list were purchased. I knew I’d want to own them based on what I’d heard and I was right!!
Here is how I made this list. I looked through my Goodreads Read in 2017 list. I found all of the five star reads and then looked through them for the ones that still evoke an emotional response in me. The ones I still think about (every day for many of them). These are the books on the list below.
1. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman Audible
Award: Best Audiobook of 2017
I listened to this one on Audible and I still think about it so very often. I just kind of fell in lovewith Eleanor and rooted for her so hard.
Original Review: I want to shout it from the rooftops… I LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS BOOK. Adored it, swooned over it, devoured it. Well, as fast as you can devour an Audible book. Another EXCELLENT narrator and I feel that the audio version enhanced the already amazing words so much. Fans of Ove and The Rosie Effect will love this book. At times absolutely HEARTBREAKING, it was the most endearing and uplifting book I’ve read in a long, long time. Absolute perfection. I want to find Eleanor and hold her hand. 5 stars.
2. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas Audible
Award: Most Important Read of 2017
I still, to this day, think this is such an important read. I think that all teenagers should have to read it. Hell, I thinkall adults should have to read it.
Original Review: The title is an acronym for THUG. This book broke my heart. And made me SO MAD. I listened to it on Audible and I fully believe it gave me an even deeper experience than reading it would have. There is so much buzz about this book right now and it deserves every single bit. Race relations, police brutality, gangs, racism…it’s all covered in this book. But the overarching theme? L O V E. If you walk away from this book thinking otherwise, then read it again. Or LISTEN to it. Read it with an open heart and put your defense down. It’s not easy to listen to. I cried in many places. But it’s so so so very important to read. I won’t ever forget a single word. 5 stars.
3. The One in a Million Boy by Monica Wood Purchased
Award: Most Heartwarming Book of 2017
This book just made me feel all of the feels. I fell in love from the very beginning.
Original Review: Oh my heart did I love this one. I loved every single thing about it. It was absolutely heartwarming. I love it like I loved Ove, Arthur Pepper, and Lillian Boxfish. It was just magical and charming.
by Laurie Frankel Purchased
Award: Best Portrayal of Family Life of 2017
Family is everything. And navigating being a parent, especially in a large family, can be so damn complicated. I feel like this one really got it right from my perspective.
Original Review: Oh did I love this gem of a book. On the surface it’s about Rosie and Penn’s son announcing he thinks he’s a girl. But it’s about so much more than that. The overall theme is LOVE. Real, true, abiding, unshakeable love. Parental love that simply cannot be put into words…although Laurie Frankel still managed to do so somehow.
I especially loved the SPOT ON descriptions of a family with five children…I have five too and oh boy did Frankel nail it.
My favorite passage from the book- one that brings tears to my eyes just typing it- is this:
These kids, her multitudes, they could grow up. They could move away. They could- they would- become new, become changed,become actual adult people in progress,people she wouldn’t recognize,people she could not imagine. People remade. They would undergo miracles. They would transform. They would make magic. But they were her story, hers and Penn’s, so however wide they wandered, they would always be right here.
MAGIC. Five stars.
5. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch Library
Award: Book I Read the Fastest in 2017.
I was…AM…so obsessed with this book and I haven’t stopped thinking about it. Jimmy and I talk about it all the time.
Original Review: I read this book in a matter of hours. I cannot even tell you how much I enjoyed it. I am not one to enjoy books about physics… Let’s be honest, I don’t even understand physics. However… This book transcends any genre. It is absolutely thrilling, heart pounding, and all encompassing. Such a fun ride!
6. The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne BOTM Selection
Award: Longest Book I Read in 2017
Oh this book, this book. It grabbed me from the first page and I held on for dear life until the end. It broke my heart. And warmed it. Side note: This also won BOTM’s book of the year. You can snag your own commemorative rose gold copy HERE.
Original Review: Brb to write a review if I can stop crying long enough to do so.. HAHA! Guess I never got back to write the review but I think those words say it all.
by Julia Claiborne Johnson Library
Award: Quirkiest Book of 2017
I just thought this book worked perfectly. I loved the characters and how imperfect they were, I loved the setting, I loved the dialogue.
Original Review: Oh this book…this book. The perfect mix of wit, heartbreak, quirk, and magic. It won me over from page one. This gave me the same feels that The Rosie Project and Eleanor Oliphant gave me. It’s the story of one amazing kid and the people who love him. It warmed my heart big time.
“‘Frank will be okay, Alice,’ Mr. Vargas said. ‘He’s an odd duck, but brilliant children often are. It may take him a while, but someday he’ll figure out how to live in the world of ordinary mortals.’”5 stars
8. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid BOTM Selection
Award: Most Nostalgic Book of 2017.
This one took my by surprise. I’m a BIG Taylor Jenkins Reid fan and this book was such a departure for her. In a really great way. I loved the era this one was set in, my favorite decade.
Original Review: Yeah I loved this book. To be fair I LOVE TJR and I’m also obsessed with old Hollywood so this is totally my kind of book. There was also a wonderful dose of social justice. I ADORED it.
9. A Million Junes by Emily Henry BOTM Selection
Award: Most Magical Book of 2017
I think about this one quite often . It was kind of in the same vein as Night Circus. Just magical.
Original Review: Haunting, beautiful, magical, and thoroughly enchanting. The last couple of chapters got a little too weird and convoluted for me, but the tear-inducing ending more than made up for it. Swoonworthy.
10. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi Library
Award: Most Sweeping Story of 2017
I still can’t get over how much time is covered in this novel and how all of the characters weave together perfectly. FYI- it takes a while to get a hang of all of the characters but fight through the confusion!
Original Review: This book is OUTSTANDING. Absolutely outstanding. This novel takes place on two continents over 300 years and it was astoundingly moving and beautiful. And horribly sad as well. It stunned me and I won’t forget it.
11. Bear Town by Fredrick Backman Purchased
Award: Biggest Surprise of 2017
I love Fredrick Backman. LOVE him. I thought this book was just going to be about hockey. Oh how wrong I was!
Original Reviw: Before I start this review, I need to disclose that I love Fredrick Backman. A Man Called Ove is one of my all time favorites. That said, his writing style takes a little getting used to. He is Swedish and I’m not sure if that has something to do with the different cadence and at times dry and abrupt structure of his sentences. But listen to me here- STICK WITH IT.
Ostensibly this book is about hockey. Which I know zero about. Zero. In reality it is about so much more. Love, fear, loyalty, loss, desire, family, good, and evil. It is about whether “boys will be boys” is an excuse and if “locker room banter” is acceptable. It’s about standing up for what you believe in…and so much more. Some of it is quite dark and some of it probably needs a trigger warning.
Listen to me here…Backman’s books are a slow burn. He wants you to KNOW his characters inside and out before you get to the action. He wants you to work for it and think about it. Always read carefully because there are gems scattered along the way. 5 stars.
12. Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge Purchased
Award: Book That Made Me Cry the Hardest in 2017
Guys. I’m still thinking about this book like every day. I will say that as time goes on I’m still TOTALLY annoyed by the end. Why did Huckelbridge wrap it up so fast? It’s almost like the first half and last half are two totally different animals. So odd. But the beginning and middle is such a beautifully crafted love story.
Original Review: Y’ALL. Y’all. Y’all. Y’alllllll. Maybe I should start by telling you that when I finished this book I was crying so hard that Jimmy almost had to pull the car over. I’m not kidding. It broke me. BROKE ME. This book is so dang good. And so much to take, I thought my heart might burst. My only issue is that Huckelbridge wrapped the end up wayyyy too fast. I wish he would have slowed down a little bit because it was a little jarring. But I loved it so much. I loved the characters, I loved the story, I loved the setting.
I DID IT I DID IT!
I thought I was never EVER going to finish this post. HOORAY!
So…what were your favorites of the year? Do we have any in common?
xoxo
Stephanie
I love your list! A few I’ve read (I will always and forever love Eleanor Oliphant) and a few are on my list. Books are the best for so many reasons and talking about books makes the experience even better. Happy reading in 2018.
YES!
Dark Matter was my favorite read of 2017. I tell people “Just read it.” Or that its Jason Bourne meets It’s a Wonderful Life.
This is a perfect description.
My favorite book that I read last year was one you recommended: The Night Circus. In my all-time top 10. Thank you for taking the time to share what you read and enjoy! I’m going to look for Dark Matter at my library now. 🙂
oh that book was so magical!
Love this list!! I read 305 this year (http://www.karenika.com/archives/42272) and my favorite was This is How it Always Is. What a wonderful book. Did you read Britt-Marie was Here? I put it off for a while because I wasn’t sure I would like it but I loved it. (I really loved the previous one with My Grandmother…) Thank you for sharing what you read, I look forward to it each time. The only two on your list that I have not read are the Jenkins Reid and Castle of Water, both of which I will put on hold at the library. (Though I am not sure about crying so much!)
KAREN! I bow down to your reading skills.
I have read them all except one…Castle of Water, and I just requested it a the library. I am in the middle of The Hearts Invisible Furies and loving it so far. I can ‘t agree they were all in my top favorites but all memorable reads. I loved Dark Matter and Seven Husbands. Thank you for sharing your reading life I build my TBR list partial off of your reviews.
Happy Reading in 2018!
111 is AWESOME! Seriously. Life is so busy sometimes, but making time to read is such a worthwhile endeavor. I totally want to read Bear Town. Putting it on the list. The best book I read this year was Tenth of December by George Saunders. Total surprise read but I still think of it daily. Can’t wait to see what you read this year.
Thank you for your rec! Added it to my to read list!
I love your list. Eleanor Oliphant is my favorite of the year. I still think about her and love Raymond’s kindness. Dark Matter was my fastest read, too. I have shared it with everyone. I love your book reviews! Thanks!
I agree. It just was so memorable and heartwarming.
I was so pumped to read 25 books this year, ha! My favorite book was Homegoing. I’m going to read the rest of your faves!
25 is great! It’s totally not a competition! Happy reading in 2018. xoxo
Love, love, love your lists. I spent the majority of the year reading young adult fiction and The Hate U Give was among my favorites. Others included : Scythe, All We Have Left, Refugee, Echo, and It’s a Wonderful Death. Adult favs included: 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, The Nightingale, Hillbilly Elegy, Small great things , Option B, and The 5 Second Rule. Happy Reading !!!
Thanks so much for the recs- happy new year!
I love your book posts! I too love all different kinds of books. I am a slow reader, but my daughter reads so fast and can get through several in a weekend. I gave her your Dark Matter recommendation when she was home from Univ. of Maryland this summer. She loved it! She is a Biology major and takes some physics and quantum mechanics classes and she saw some of that in the book. Even my husband loved it and he doesn’t read much (I told him your husband read it)! Thanks for sharing your books!
YAY! It’s the perfect husband rec!
Before We Were Yours was my favorite of 2017. I read it the day after Christmas and absolutely loved it.
I’m listening to that on Audible right now!
I love this post, this list, and everything you said up top about reading! Yes yes yes!
I read a bunch of these, and a few made it to my favorites list as well (Bear Town was probably my most favorite from the year. I adored this book. Someone said it was like a Swedish hockey version of Friday Night Lights and I think that summed it up so well for me).
Did you read After the Eclipse by Sarah Perry this year? That’s one that caught me off guard but I absolutely loved it. Amazing writing, a haunting story, and I think about it regularly.
Happy reading in 2018!
just added it to my list- thanks so much!
I’ve only read Castle of Water and I also loved it, until the end. I was so very disappointed and I’m still bitter about it! I can’t even recommend it to my sisters, that’s how bitter I still am! Looking forward to reading the others on your list!
I KNOWWWWW
Only had read one, but have some of the others on my list. I always jot down the titles you give, but don’t always read them all. When I read people’s reviews, it always reminds me of how different we are. Some love a book – others hate them. Thank goodness we all have choices. When people say they do not have time to read, I always think – I make time to read! Good for you;, for making time to read. Blessings to you and your family in 2018 and thank you for sharing with us.
same to you, pat! oxo
Yay! I was waiting for your list! I can not wait to read, “Dark Matter.” My favorite of the year was, “A Thousand Splendid Sons.” I will never forget it.
That one was amazing. xo
I posted my best books of 2017 list today too! We have a few in common… a few I haven’t gotten to yet from your list… a few I haven’t heard of and will mark to read. The Hate U Give was one of my top books of the year, too.
off to read yours!
Oh yay! I LOVE favorite book posts! I wanted to high five you when I saw Eleanor on your list. Loved that book this year! I am in the middle of Castle of Water…looks like I might need to grab some tissues to continue. My two favorites this year were We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter (I adore historical fiction) as well as Eleanor! A YA novel I read that I only gave 4.5 starts but that I think should’ve been 5 was Swear on This Life by Renée Carlino. It was so good! Just finished another YA on New Year’s Day called When Dimple Met Rishi. It was absolutely adorable with wonderful characters. This reply is already long but had to ask if you’ve seen the NPR Book Concierge 2017? It lets you filter through books based on your likes and preferences! Or just randomly request them from the library like I did and see what you like! Happy New Year to you and your family!
oooh such a cool idea. thanks melissa!!
This is so random, but I saw this book (using the book concierge above) and just put it on hold at the library but for some reason, I thought of your list for 2017 and it seems like one you might like. So, because I love books (and This is Us which the reviewer mentioned), I needed to share…Far From The Tree by Robin Benway.
https://apps.npr.org/best-books-2017/#/book/far-from-the-tree
Thanks for the suggestions. As the three books on your list I have read were also on my faves for the year (I managed 73 for the year) I think I may like your other suggestions. My other top reads, not on your list were ATown Like Alice, Born A Crime, The Sympethizer, Just Mercy, News of the World, The Stone Sky (3rd of the Stone Eaters Trilogy), The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Frye, A gentleman in Moscow, Americanah, King Leopold’s Ghost, Train Dreams.
Your book lists make me so happy. SO. HAPPY. I struggle narrowing down my faves from the past year. I read way more non-fiction than I normally do, so some of these will sound super weird.
Fiction: Today Will Be Different, The Hate U Give, The Nix, Gentleman in Moscow, If We Were Villains, Homegoing
YA: When You Reach Me, The Girl From Everywhere
Non-fiction: Born a Crime, Sleep Smarter, Untangled: guiding teenage girls tO adulthood, the 5 second rule
Great list! Dark Matter and Eleanor Oliphant were on my favorites list too. My absolute number 1 favorite read for this year was The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. That book made such an impact on me and I still think about the characters and their circumstances. It’s a heart-breaking and beautiful book.
I also loved One in a Million Boy and Be Frank with Me – both so quirky but I loved them!
I just finished Something Like Happy by Eva Hoffman and really liked it – about unlikely friendships & living life with gusto right to the end.
Did you read Lillian Boxfish takes a walk? That was another fave of mine this last year.
I also just read Gretchen Rubin’s The Four Tendencies about how we keep external and internal commitments – very fascinating & enlightening! I leaned a lot about myself.