2017: A Year in Books

This year, I ended 2017 by reading my *seventy-fifth* book! I had secretly been hoping to hit 100, but I fell short of that goal. Still, I am so glad I got to read so many amazing new books this year (and to re-read a few old favorites, too). Here is my list in chronological order. I will note my favorites at the end and any ones that have a * are re-reads. I hope my list gives you some ideas for your bookshelf.

***2017***

1. Syllabus by Lynda Barry
2. History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund
3. Eleven Hours by Pamela Erens
4. Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes
5. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley *
6. Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller
7. Bruja by Wendy Ortiz
8. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
9. Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
10. Abandon Me by Melissa Febos
11. Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel
12. The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
13. Marlena by Julie Buntin
14. Blueprints for Building Better Girls by Elissa Schappell
15. The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry
16. Page After Page by Heather Sellers *
17. Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson by Modern Library *
18. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
19. Rookery by Traci Brimhall *
20. A House of my Own by Sandra Cisernos
21. Pull Me Under by Kelly Luce
22. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
23. Book of Joan by Lidia Yuknavitch
24. Bright Air Black by David Vann
25. Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
26. Woman Most Wild by Danielle Dulsky
27. Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah Maas
28. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
29. Witch by Lisa Lister
30. Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood
31. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy
32. A Million Junes by Emily Henry
33. Fledgling by Octavia Butler
34. The Sellout by Paul Beatty
35. Hunger by Roxane Gay
36. Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes *
37. Euphoria by Lily King
38. Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler
39. Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett
40. Women in the Material World by Faith D'Alusio *
41. Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
42. The Dark Dark by Samantha Hunt
43. House of Names by Colm Toibin
44. The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne
45. The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
46. The Nix by Nathan Hill
47. Witches of New York by Ami McKay
48. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
49. Lit by Mary Karr *
50. What Happened by Hillary Clinton
51. The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld
52. An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken
53. Norma by Sofi Oksanen
54. Devotion by Patti Smith
55. The Lightkeepers by Abby Geni
56. Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang
57. The Power by Naomi Alderman
58. The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
59. Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich
60. The Art of Misdiagnosis by Gayle Brandeis
61. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanthi
62. Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward
63. Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
64. Light the Dark: Writers on Creativity, Inspiration, and the Artistic Process by Joe Fassler
65. The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness
66. Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi
67. Literary Witches by Taisia Kitaiskaia and Katy Horan
68. Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg *
69. Saudade by Traci Brimhall
70. Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood *
71. Witch Wife (poems) by Kiki Petrosino
72. Blue Pastures by Mary Oliver *
73. Autumn by Ali Smith
74. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison *
75. My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent

Of my list, eleven were rereads (about 14%), sixty-two were written by women (about 83%), and nearly 25% were books by writers of color. As for genre, fiction was the favorite--about 65%, with non-fiction at 24% and poetry at just six books total. In 2018, I hope to keep increasing cultural diversity and to incorporate more poetry. 

My top books of 2017 were (in no order)

1. The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness
2. Fledgling by Octavia Butler
3. The Dark Dark by Samantha Hunt
4. Hunger by Roxane Gay
5. Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward
6. The Power by Naomi Alderman
7. Autumn by Ali Smith
8. Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich
9. Abandon Me by Melissa Febos
10. The Lightkeepers by Abby Geni
11. The Art of Misdiagnosis by Gayle Brandeis
12. History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund
13. Bright Air Black by David Vann
14. Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
15. Book of Joan by Lidia Yuknavitch

Writing my "top books" list was nearly impossible, since I read SO many books I loved. Priestdaddy and What Happened were probably my "least favorite" reads and are the only ones I wouldn't likely recommend, though there were a few others that didn't *quite* live up to the hype for me personally. Overall, 2017 was a powerful reading year for me. I am excited about at least a dozen books coming in 2018, and looking forward to the ones I never saw coming to knock me out, too. If you're a writer, please keep writing. I want your book on my list someday. Happy 2018 and happy reading!