Best and Worst of 2017

Well, we did it, friends.  2017 was successfully Booked Up with my highest number of books read to date.  With a grand total of 166 books, I have a lot of factors to thank for my prolific reading experience this year: grad school, the Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club, Anne Bogel, the Diverse Books Club, the Dysautonomia Support Network Book Club, my local Barnes and Noble Book Club, the Kid Lit Exchange, my friends on Bookstagram . . . the list goes on and on.  I think I would be remiss if I didn’t take some time to reflect back on my favorite (and not so favorite) reads of the year.  ​Many of these I have not featured on the blog yet, which is a true shame.   Join me as I share my five of favorites, five of my least favorites, a few great audiobooks, and my bookish superlatives of the year!

My Favorite Books I Read in 2017

Rating: 5 stars

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
I first fell in love with the television show adaptation and finally convinced myself that I had to give the nearly 627 page book a try.  Worried that I wouldn’t love the writing, I was pleasantly surprised that the show dutifully followed the events and character development of the book.  I love this series for the sassy female protagonist, Claire, who inadvertently travels back in time from her second honeymoon in 1945 to Scotland 1743.  Claire uses her knowledge as a combat nurse to aid the clansmen who have taken her in, who are certainly taken aback by her knowledge and skill, not to mention her attitude.  For reasons I won’t spoil, she finds herself falling in love with the passionate red-haired Scotsman Jamie Fraser (who you won’t be able to resist).  Claire finds herself torn between the life she knew in 1943 and the one she comes to love in 1743 (for more reasons than one).  The second in the series has been staring me down, and it’s one of the first on the list of “pleasure reads” that I’m picking up in 2018.  I'm promising my Outlander watching buddy that I'll be ready for the fourth season by next Fall! 

Still Alice by Lisa Genova
I listened to Still Alice on audio book, and I think it was my fastest listen of the year.  The story follows Alice, a woman in her 50s who discovers she has early onset Alzheimer’s disease.  The details as far as the frustrations and worries that comes with such a diagnosis, including that of the family, I thought Genova did an excellent job portraying the patient’s true experience.  Genova holds a Ph. D in neuroscience from Harvard University, which lends itself to her writing.  It isn’t overly technical, by any means.  Instead, Genova uses her knowledge to build empathy for her characters.  This book gave me all of the feels and is one that I will keep on my shelves for years to come.

Rating: 5 stars

Rating: 4 stars

I See You by Clare Mackintosh
One of the books that I loved but never got around to blogging about was the thriller I See You.  Another audiobook I zoomed through this summer, I See You is not a book for those of you with vivid imaginations and a skepticism of what happens to the information you share on social media.  The premies: the pictures of women show up in classified ads and  a few days later the women disappear.   Scary, right?  What even more creepy is that the main character finds her own picture in the paper without ever placing it there.  You’ll be hooked from the start trying to figure out why this is happening and by whom.  Boy, oh, boy, was this a great twisty read!

Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that this one made it to my Top Five list of the year.  I gushed about it already on the blog, mostly because it made me laugh and cry.  Literally.  This is not hyperbole.  It might sound like your typical “stuck on a desert island” story, but I assure you, Castle of Water is anything but.  Yes, it has two castaways with a bit of a language barrier and no hope of survival.  Yes, our two castaways learn to set aside their differences in the name of survival.  But, folks, this one is so much more than another version of the movie Castaway.  It has humor, romance, heartbreak, and an ending that left me literally hugging the book to my chest.  Billed as a “modern day castaway story with a French twist,” Castle of Water is easily my favorite book of the year.  I loved the characters.  I loved the plot.  I loved all of the twists and turns along the way.  Most of all, I loved the writing.  It’s a story about the triumph of the human spirit, that I am declaring as a “must read.”

Rating: 5 stars

Rating: 5 stars

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
I have to admit that this is a hands-down-no-brainer-five-star-read for me, but not because this was an “enjoyable” book.  The events of Walls’ childhood are difficult.  They may make you uncomfortable if you are not a fan or reading about emotional and physical abuse.  In the first chapter alone, Walls tells the story of how at age 3 she gave herself third degree burns by boiling hot dogs alone.  She had an extensive hospital stay, complete with skin grafts.  (Here’s one of those moments you have to trust that Walls got her details from her family members.)  The content was indeed difficult, but Walls handles her story delicately, and I appreciated her candor in sharing how to love even the worst parts of your family.

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My Least Favorite Books I Read in 2017

Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka
I first picked Girl in Snow up thinking it was a murder-mystery, but instead found myself diving deeper into the lives of the three narrators. Character-driven, this novel focuses on the unrequited love, the forgotten friendships, and a past that seems to haunt each and every person. The missing girl is not the center of the story, but she is the connecting thread among each storyline. This wasn’t my most favorite read in the thriller/mystery genre. Dividing the narrative into three separate perspectives was distracting. I had to go back several times to see who was narrating the section I was reading so I could keep the characters and their stories straight. I never knew until the last moment who the killer was, and I felt that I wasn’t able to appreciate the big reveal because of the lack of connection between all of the details in the story.  Will I read another one of Kukafka’s books? Probably, but just to see if it was the story I disliked or her writing.

Rating: 3 stars

Rating: 2 stars

When the English Fall by David Williams
​Another book with a great premise (technology fails and everyone turns to the Amish for help), I was really excited to read it. Unfortunately, I didn't gain anything from reading this one. The perspective was potentially interesting but lost me because the narrator wasn't connected with the events. I felt distanced by the tone and wasn't able to get into this read no matter how hard I tried.  

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
If you want to read about a female protagonist that gains nothing in her life except for a love of moss, then The Signature of All Things is for you!  This book almost made it to my “Book I Hate” choice for my episode of What Should I Read Next?, but fortunately for it my hatred for Cormac McCarthy's violence is much stronger.  This book is the epitome of the kind of books that don’t jive with me: a woman set up as a heroine but who never achieves happiness, mindless description of insignificant details, sexual content for the shock-factor.  I read this one with the Dysautonomia Support Network Book Club, but we all admitted what we enjoyed most about this book was collectively hating it together during our meetings.  Please tell me Gilbert’s other books are better, because I have Eat, Pray, Love on my list for 2018 and I don’t want to hate it too. ​

Rating: 2 stars

Rating: 2 stars

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders 
2 stars may be a bit generous for this one.  Again, my opinion could be based on my listening to it on audio, but I was extremely lost throughout the entire book.  It’s a strange mix of poetry, play, and prose to present the purgatory that Willie Lincoln, President Lincoln’s son, explores as he is waiting for his father to finally lay him to rest.  The cast of characters is vast, with both the living and the dead.  Overall, this is a book for someone who can sit and wade through the complex plot and the almost too many voices coming from the page.

The Dry by Jane Harper
I was extremely excited to jump into this one as a part of the Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading List for 2017.  Unfortunately, I found the narrator insufferable.  Not all of my characters need redeeming qualities, but I couldn’t find a way to justify their thoughts or their actions.  I had no way to connect!  My dislike of this book may have been from the audio narration, as many people I chatted with said that they preferred the physical version better.  Harper has a second book coming out in 2018 as an extension of this series with Detective Alex Falk, and I’ll give it a second try on paper.

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Rating: 1 star

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Favorite Audiobooks

Rating: 5 stars

Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari
I’ve been branching out into more and more non-fiction lately, and I find myself leaning toward those books that have a more comical approach to serious topics.  Aziz Ansari’s Modern Romance fit the bill for me in so many ways.  I originally read this two summers ago by the pool and was completely enthralled with the mix of data, candor, and humor in the world of modern dating.   Ansari reads the audio version himself, adding asides and funny notes that are not in the physical book.  If you are a fan of Ansari’s comedy, enjoyed Parks and Rec, are a singleton in the modern era, or if you just own a cell phone, you’ll find something to enjoy in this humorous social science book.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie is the queen of crime and the only thing to make her stories better are a great narrator.  In walks Dan Stevens with the mic drop.  (You may know him as Matthew from Downton Abbey or the Beast/Prince Adam in Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast.)  Stevens plays the part of all thirteen suspects, the victim, and the infamous Hercule Poirot with many unique voices, allowing you to focus on the mystery while also being soothed by his lovely and deep British accent.  Come for the crime, stay for his voice. ​

Rating: 5 stars

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Superlatives 2017

Most Likely to Recommend

Rating: 4 stars

Dear Fahrenheit 451 by Annie Spence
​I fell in love with the cover on Instagram, was gifted it by my wonderful Diverse Books Club family, and had it recommended to me by Anne Bogel on my episode of What Should I Read Next? (PS-Anne is right. This does not pass the Grandmother Test.)  In Spence’s love letters and break up notes to books throughout her life I found myself thinking about what I would say to my most beloved and hated books.  I loved hearing why she felt the way she did, and found myself reminiscing on some of the titles we both had read. This is a great “gifting” book for a wide variety of readers because Spence covers so. many. books.  It’s not one that you can sit and read in one sitting, but it’s a great one to appreciate over time. You can check out Spence on What Should I Read Next? Episode 109.

Most Likely to Read Again

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline 
I read it twice in 2017, and I’ll probably read it one more time before the movie comes out in 2018.  I love the journey the main characters take as well as their character development.  It’s a great blend of science fiction, 80s pop culture, and all the geeky things you secretly love.  You don’t have to be a gamer to appreciate the story, as I certainly am not. It truly holds up in both audio and physical form.  (Bonus-Wil Wheaton reads the audiobook!)

Rating: 5 stars

Biggest Let Down

Rating: 1 star

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
​Let’s just go ahead and get this out of the way.  I really wanted to love this book.  The premise is exactly what I enjoy about a dystopian novel, but the execution just wasn’t something that left me hooked.  I tried reading this one twice (once as a physical book, successfully as an audiobook) because so many people have raved about it.  I hoped the look at post-civilization band of misfits would provide sufficient explanations as to how or why things are the way they are.  For me, it just fell short.  The writing is arguably good and starts off very strong.  It was my lack of connection with the many characters over many continents that left me feeling very disappointed with a book that nearly everyone else loves.  I’m definitely in the minority with only 2% of reviewers on Goodreads giving it 1 star.

Biggest Surprise

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
​I told you about how I was more than hesitant to pick up Celeste Ng’s sophomore novel, Little Fires Everywhere. Her first novel, Everything I Never Told You, left a bad taste in my mouth with the narrative style, the characters without redeeming qualities, and just the plot as a whole. When my in-person book club chose it as the November pick, I begrudgingly picked up a copy to read. I even put off reading it until the day of the book club, but by the time I was through the first chapter I was kicking myself for waiting so long. Little Fires Everywhere shines everywhere I felt Ng’s first novel fell flat. I’m not usually a fan of complicated family novels, but this is one I truly enjoyed. There’s at least one character in here for everyone, and the plot was built for discussions. It only took me 24 hours to read this book, and it’s definitely in my top ten of 2017.

Rating: 4 stars