I read 59 books last year which is quite amazing considering that I ‘only’ read 13 books in 2016, and I am still a bit in awe that I was able to execute my goal last year and really put some serious time and effort into reading again. It made my heart so very happy and it also means that I actually get to pick my favorite 10 books (out of many) for you this time around.
Here are my top 5 (in more detail) and below 5 more honorable mentions.
1. The Art of Racing in Rain by Garth Stein
This might have been my favorite book of all in 2017, just because I pretty much had no expectations and was surprised in such a positive way. I didn’t think that I would like a book that was narrated from the perspective of a dog, but it worked remarkably well.
The story is heartbreaking and tragic. Enzo is reporting his life story and the life story of his family. He uses first-person central narration when talking about his own feelings and reactions to things, but then he also uses the role of peripheral narrator when he’s talking about his family. Basically, Enzo is the center of his own story, but he’s a peripheral character in the story of the humans, which he’s also telling, which makes for some really interesting observations and insights.
2. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
You need to read this book. I am sure you’ve been told this many times from all the people who read it in 2017. The story touches on the very current topic of police violence against people of color and is told from the perspective of 16-year old Starr Carter, who was in the car with her childhood friend Khalil, when they got pulled over by police and Khalil got fatally shot. Starr experiences first hand the divide between black and white culture and the assumptions that are made and perpetuated about each other. Thomas’ writing is vivid and descriptive and very much underlines the fact that this is not a black-and-white issue (pun intended!), but a very complex problem that can only be solved by the willingness to listen to and really hear each other.
3. Madness by Marya Hornbacher
I loved this book. I have read a lot of books about mental illness, but none has moved me as much as this one. It is hard to understand mental illness, let alone to feel what it is like to be in midst of an episode. Marya does not only draw a clear picture of what it is like to live with her mental illness, but also how it affects the people around her. The best part of this book truly is the epilogue. Marya puts into perspective how her life will always be different from yours. Without trying to be all woe-is-me, she manages to evoke compassion and understanding for a situation that is so often met with stigma and prejudice. I will leave you with this (partial) quote.
“Some of the things I won’t do are things you take for granted; many of them are things I want to do, but can’t. This isn’t the end of the world. It’s just the way things are. Managing mental illness is mostly about acceptance – of the things you can’t do, and the things you must. […] There is grief for the years that slipped by, guilt at having hurt people, and for having needed so much and given so little for so long, regret about the goals I never attained. But there is also hope.”
4. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
I am always a little hesitant to read WWII novels (maybe because it still is such a ‘sensitive’ issue for us Germans), but I am also always intrigued by them. This book is about women in wartime, and it’s an interesting, moving portrait of the Nazi occupation of France and what this meant for all the women that were left behind. Abandoned by their father, who was broken by war and with life changing in unbelievably horrific ways, sisters Vianne and Isabelle have to find their own ways to cope and resist during the Nazi occupation. I loved Hannah’s writing style and couldn’t put this book down. I wanted to know what happened to Vianne and Isabelle and was rooting for their survival. I also loved the ending (if you pick up and read this book, you’ll find out why!).
5. The signature of all things by Elizabeth Gilbert
I am pretty confident when I say that this book isn’t for everyone. Some may find it too long, others may find parts too graphic, too detailed, or unnecessary. Some might find it downright boring. But personally, I loved this book and Elizabeth Gilbert is a very talented writer. I love books that combine a fictional life story (with a female heroine!) with historical context and events, scientific theories, relationships, and life struggles and this book has it all! The book speaks to the parts of us that desire order, reason, and evidence and those parts that want to embrace the opposite; faith, belief and unwavering optimism and hope. Especially the second half of the book kept me turning the pages and reading well into the night.
Honorable mentions (that also got 5 stars from me).
6. Me before you by Jojo Moyes
7. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
8. When breath becomes air by Paul Kalanithi
9. A tree grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
10. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
What was your favorite book in 2017? What is on your to-read list for 2018?
Leave a comment, and then add me on Goodreads to keep in touch.
Meesh
January 9, 2018 at 8:09 amWOAH!!! You read SO MANY books! That is awesome!
Ana
January 9, 2018 at 9:23 amYou read so many amazing books! I Read The Hate U Give and loved it too, and I agree more people should read it. Also check out Dear Martin, similar story, but from a boy perspective with amazing insights.
I loved Me Before You! I still debate the ending with my sister.
So far for this year, I have two Hillary Clinton books on my list and What Made Maddy Run by Kate Fagan, I’m going to need a light book after both of those.
Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
January 9, 2018 at 10:13 amWay to go on reading 59 books! That is awesome and is a HUGE jump from reading 13 the previous year!! I added Madness to my TBR list. It sounds really fascinating and thought provoking. I am not sure if I am the right person for The Signature of All Things. I know people who loved it and those that didn’t like it. I should pick it up, though, and see what I think as i can always abandon it if it’s not working for me.
I also loved The Nightingale. That’s probably my favorite WWII novel I’ve read. I was surprised that I liked it because I read a couple other Kristen Hannah books and they were a bit too ‘chick lit’ for my liking. But The Nightingale was an amazing book!
Marcia
January 9, 2018 at 3:58 pmMad props to you for being such a prolific reader in 2017! Because I traveled a lot and flew alot (london, Dubai, Greece, Berlin, Vegasx2, Utah) I read quite a bit and am now drawing a blank. Hahaha! I do remember loving A Tree Grows In Brooklyn from way back when I was in school.
ShootingStarsMag
January 9, 2018 at 7:05 pmI bought The Hate U Give around the time it came out but I STILL need to read it, and I will – as soon as I can. I’ve just been so busy with review books, etc. I loved Me Before You though and that movie just breaks my heart as well. I’m curious about the sequels. My sister’s read the second one already.
-lauren
Megan @ Meg Go Run
January 10, 2018 at 1:57 amI have heard The Art of Racing in the Rain but I just can’t read anything with animals… I am empathetic to a fault when it comes to dogs and cats. More empathetic than I am toward people! Like right now, Jelly is on my lap and I need to get more coffee but I can’t get up because…. Jelly is sleeping on my lap!
anthea
January 11, 2018 at 3:38 amWow that is so many books for 2017! I read 41 and thought I was on a roll!
I love Kristin Hannah’s books and I’ll look out for “Nightingale”. “Firefly lane” was a brilliant book I read last year by her and I just couldn’t put it down.
Stephany
January 11, 2018 at 7:32 amYessss. The Hate U Give is a book EVERYONE needs to read. It was my favorite book of 2017. I also read The Nightingale in 2017 and liked it a lot – one of the better WWII novels I’ve read. Me Before You is on my all-time favorites list. Such a well-written and heartwrenching story.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
January 14, 2018 at 8:18 amThe number of read books is truly amazing. And your choice of books are not always easy topics. I tend to read more entertainment books. I also have a reading goal this year. However it is not reflected in the number of books to read but rather in topics and the stories I want to read. For example I put “5 German books” on there as I never ready any German author. We’ll see how that goes. I put a couple of your books on my reading list as I have done with your monthly book recaps. So I am looking forward tagging a long for 2018 and what stories you discover.
Happy Sunday, Tobia
Terra
January 22, 2018 at 1:13 pmI have to say I didn’t love The Hate U Give as much as I thought I would, but I think that might have something to do with the hype. I didn’t love the writing style and I just didn’t click with the book, I guess. I still think it’s something everyone should read – it’s an important topic, I just didn’t love the writing.
I read the Nightingale during my deployment and I loved it. I could not put that book down and basically devoured it.
I still don’t know how I feel about The Signature of All Things. It was very unique, definitely surprisingly graphic and sort of strange.
san
January 25, 2018 at 8:43 amI kinda felt the same. I think The Hate U Give is an important book that everyone should read, but the writing didn’t blow me away and it’s not like I want to read this book again and again.
The Signature of all things is definitely…. different. I can see why so many people struggle with it, but I loved it for many reason (not the least because of all the scientific stuff and that a woman – at that day and age – was able to persevere in such a man-dominated environment).