Best & Worst of the 46 Books I read in 2017

During 2017 I expanded my reading horizons to include many books I wouldn’t normally choose. The selection contained mostly novels, a few memoirs, other various non-fiction works, an art book and a screenplay. In an attempt to make this post useful to readers, I’ve created sections to group the books based on my overall enjoyment of the texts. Most, but not all of the books I read during 2017 were released in 2017. The overall selection was heavily influenced by copies I received freely from publishers through Goodreads giveaways. A full list of titles appears at the end of the post.

My six favorite books:

The Clairvoyants* – Karen Brown

Spaceman of Bohemia* – Jaroslav Kalfar

The Fortunate Ones* – Ellen Umansky

Shelter in Place – Alexander Maksik

Taduno’s Song – Odafe Atogun

Songs of the Baka* – Dennis James

Taduno’s Song – An African musician must find his lost voice in order to rescue his lover from a corrupt government.

The Clairvoyants* – A Cornell student who sees spirits of the deceased unravels the mystery surrounding a missing persons case.

Songs of the Baka* – A writer and photographer share their travels to several uncommon destinations.

Spaceman of Bohemia* – A man on a solo mission in space is abandoned by his wife and encounters a strange creature aboard his ship.

Shelter in Place – A bipolar man falls in love with a woman who comes and goes after his mother is imprisoned for killing a man with a hammer.

The Fortunate Ones* – A painting stolen from a Jewish home by the Nazis during World War II resurfaces in Los Angeles decades later and brings together an unlikely pair of women.

After those six, my next nine top picks:

Oola* – Brittany Newell

Under the Harrow – Flynn Berry

Men without Women – Haruki Murakami

A Fortune Foretold* – Agneta Pleijel

Sourdough – Robin Sloan

Brussels Noir* – Michael Dufranne

Twig* – Madelon Phillips

Soldier Boy* – Keely Hutton

Under the Harrow – A suspense thriller involving the murder of a woman in England.

The One Eyed Man – After becoming a widower, a man lets his true self shine through resulting in his own reality TV show.

Brussels Noir* – Short stories, some bizarre, that take place in Brussels.

Soldier Boy* – Based on a true story, this YA book relays the stories of two boy soldiers in the Ugandan civil war.

Men without Women – Short stories from Japan focused on men without women.

Oola* – Thought-provoking story of boy meets girl and their hermetic existence.

Twig* – A woman coming of age in 1950’s America deals with life’s struggles.

A Fortune Foretold* – A woman coming of age in 1950’s Sweden deals with life’s struggles.

Sourdough – A tech industry workaholic is transformed into a breadmaker after being gifted a unique sourdough starter.

Four books that should have been better:

The King is Always Above the People* – Daniel Alarcon

O Glorious City : A Love Letter to San Francisco – Jeremy Fish

A Loving, Faithful Animal* – Josephine Rowe

As Red as Blood* – Salla Simukka

The King is Always Above the People* – Short stories involving Latinx characters.

O Glorious City : A Love Letter to San Francisco – A collection art commissioned for the anniversary of San Francisco’s City Hall.

A Loving, Faithful Animal* – A girl in Australia comes of age in a broken home.

As Red as Blood* – Scandinavian teens find a bloody bag of money.

Four books I feel would be better to pass on:

Schadenfreude, A Love Story* – Rebecca Schuman

We’ll Sleep When We’re Old* – Pino Corrias

A Life of Happiness and Delight* – Akhil Sharma

Malafemmena – Louisa Ermelino

We’ll Sleep When We’re Old* – An Italian media mogul plots and schemes to hype an upcoming film failure.

Malafemmena – Short stories focusing on female protagonists in untraditional situations.

Schadenfreude, A Love Story* – A memoir by a German major about her time abroad and PhD struggles.

A Life of Adventure and Delight* – Short stories of everyday life involving characters of Indian descent.

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All titles appear below in alphabetical order by author’s last name. Title links above and below are to book reviews I’ve written. Carey, Currie, Maksik, Murakami and Sloan are the only authors I’ve read before this year. I’m happy to answer any questions about these books or provide suggestions for further reading if there’s a certain title you’ve particularly enjoyed.

So Much I Want to Tell You* – Anna Akana The King is Always Above the People* – Daniel Alarcón The Leaf Reader* – Emily Arsenault Taduno’s Song – Odafe Atogun Mexico Stories* – Josh Barkan Under the Harrow – Flynn Berry The Clairvoyants*- Karen Brown Wrong about Japan – Peter Carey The Hanging Girl*- Eileen Cook We’ll Sleep When We’re Old* – Pino Corrias Book of Moon* – George Crowder The One Eyed Man – Ron Currie Jr. The Slave* – Anand Dilvar Brussels Noir* – Michael Dufranne Malafemmena – Louisa Ermelino The Sunlight Pilgrims* – Jenni Fagan O Glorious City : A Love Letter to San Francisco – Jeremy Fish Soldier Boy* – Keely Hutton Songs of the Baka* – Dennis James Spaceman of Bohemia* – Jaroslav Kalfar White Fur* – Jardine Libaire Bluebird, Bluebird* – Attica Locke The Infinite* – Nicholas Mainieri Shelter in Place – Alexander Maksik

The Beauty of the Fall* – Rich MarcelloBright, Precious Days* – Jay McInerney Leopard at the Door* – Jennifer McVeigh Men without Women – Haruki Murakami Wolf Haven* – Annie Marie Musselman & Brenda Peterson The Gun – Fuminori Nakamura Oola* – Brittany Newell Twig* – Madelon Phillips A Fortune Foretold* – Agneta Pleijel Rebels like Us* – Liz Reinhardt A Loving, Faithful Animal* – Josephine Rowe Fantastic Beasts Original Screen Play* – J.K. Rowling Schadenfreude, A Love Story* – Rebecca Schuman Lola* – Melissa Scrivner Love A Life of Happiness and Delight* – Akhil Sharma As Red as Blood* – Salla Simukka Sourdough – Robin Sloan Our Own Private Universe* – Robin Talley A French Wedding* – Hannah Tunnicliffe The Fortunate Ones* – Ellen Umansky Fraulein M.* – Caroline Woods

*These titles were given to me through Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for my honest review.