I’m a bit late to the game on this one (I was too busy enjoying a quiet beach holiday), but 2017 was a big reading year for me and I thought I share it with you.
I read physical books, ebooks and listened to audio books and managed to get through about 65. Here’s my list and the ratings I gave them. Fittingly there were 12 five star books, one for each month, which I think is a pretty good hit rate. There were also large number of 4 star books, and only a few 1-2 stars (but also a few I didn’t finish and haven’t included here). I’ve listed them in month order, and linked to ones I’ve already written about. I’ll review a couple of others in the next few days as well.
January:
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman – 5/5
A Distant Journey by Di Morrissey – 2/5
The Muse by Jessie Burton – 4/5
Life after Life by Kate Atkinson – 5/5
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald – 4/5
Gather Together in My Name by Maya Angelou – 4/5
Februrary:
Kings in Grass Castles by Mary Durack – 2.5/5
Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood – 5/5
The World Without You by Mireille Juchau – 3/5
Here Come the Dogs by Omar Musa – 2/5
A Good in Ruins by Kate Atkinson – 5/5
March:
La Cucina by Lily Prior – 3/5
Mischling by Affinity Konar – 4/5
My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout – 4.5/5
Three Time Lucky by Sheila Turnage – 3/5
Joe Cinque’s Consolation by Helen Garner – 4/5
The Many Selves of Katherine North – 3.5/5
Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith – 3/5
April:
The Lion, the With and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis – 4/5
Anne’s House of Dreams by L. M. Montgomery – 4/5
Death Before Wicket (Phryne Fisher #10) by Kerry Greenwood – 3/5
Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer – 3/5
Cockroaches (Harry Hole #2) by Jo Nesbo – 3/5
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett – 5/5
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin – 5/5
Perfect Little World by Kevin Wilson – 4/5
Fair Game: The Incredible Untold Story of Scientology in Australia by Steve Cannane – 3/5
May:
The Dry by Jane Harper – 4/5
The Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Gruwell – 4/5
My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologies by Fredrik Backman – 3.5/5
June:
The King Maker’s Daughter by Philippa Gregory – 4/5
One Summer: America 1927 by Bill Bryson – 3/5
The Strays by Emily Bitto – 5/5
All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld – 5/5
Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil by Melina Marchetta – 3/5
Heartbreak Hotel by Deborah Moggach – 3/5
The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch – 3/5
Leaving a Trace: On Keeping a Journal by Alexandra Johnson – 4/5
The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness – 4/5
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of Family and Culture in Crisis by J. D. Vance – 4/5
July:
True Stories: Selected Non Fiction by Helen Garner – 3/5
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead – 5/5
August:
A Writing Life: Helen Garner and Her Work by Bernadette Brennan – 4/5
Summer at Mount Hope by Rosalie Ham – 4/5
Fight Like a Girl by Clementine Ford – 4/5
September:
The Girls by Emma Cline – 4/5
Hold by Kirsten Tranter – 2/5
October:
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer – 5/5
The Boy on the Bridge by M. R. Carey – 4/5
November:
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng – 5/5
The Little Book of Lykke by Meik Wiking – 3/5
So You’ve Been Publically Shamed by Jon Ronson – 3/5
The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman – 3/5
The Mothers by Brit Bennett – 3/5
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult – 3/5
Oranges are Not the Only Fruit by Jeannette Winterson – 3/5
December:
Once We Were Sisters: A Memoir by Sheila Kohler – 2.5/5
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin – 4/5
Why Be Happy When You Could be Normal? by Jeannette Winterson – 3/5
Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin – 4/5
The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion – 3/5
Open by Andre Agassi – 4/5
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff – 4/5
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid – 5/5
I started and finished the year with five star books, not a bad way to go! And can you tell that my uni studies took over my attention from July to October? Now, tell me about your 2017 reading life.
Be back soon,
Barbara
The New Good Life 