2017 was challenging in a lot of ways, but it was an excellent reading year for me. Frequent pump breaks until October helped, and I also found other ways to prioritize reading time. I set a goal to read 50 books this year, and at the time I write this I’ve read 57. I track my books on Goodreads and also my bullet journal, so that made it easy to go back and recall my favorites. Here’s my list of the top 5 books I read in 2017.
{my favorite books I read in 2017}
{This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel} I blogged about this book here and said it was a favorite summer read, but beyond that I’m naming it my favorite book for the whole year. If you haven’t read this one, I can’t recommend it enough.
{Beartown by Fredrick Backman} This one was another top summer read, and it comes in at number two for my 2017 favorites. It has a little bit of everything: sports, crime, drama, and excellent character development and storytelling. I don’t know of a person who wouldn’t enjoy this one.
{The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas} My summer reading list was clearly a good one, as this one was a summer read as well. This is an important, timely book that doesn’t at all read like an important, timely book. You know what I mean? It’s YA, which generally isn’t my favorite genre, but I could not stop reading, or talking about, this one.
{Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman} This was a recent enough read that I haven’t blogged about it yet, but it was definitely a favorite. As I shared on Instagram, I thought it was laugh out loud funny, hopeful, and I appreciated how it addressed serious issues in a straightforward yet heartfelt way. And I absolutely adored Eleanor Oliphant. She tops my list for favorite characters of the year.
{The Martian by Andy Weir} I read The Martian pretty early in the year (blog post here), but it’s one that stood out even then as a favorite. It’s one I wouldn’t have picked up on my own, but so many people recommended it I had to see why, and I’m so glad I did. I can’t wait to read his next novel, Artemis, although I can’t imagine it topping this one.
What were your favorite books of 2017?
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