2017: The Top Ten

2017 was a fantastic reading year for me, both in terms of the numbers (boosted due to some pretty crappy health issues) and in terms of the quality of what I read.  I read a total of 81 books: 43 fiction and 38 nonfiction.  Forty print books added up to 14,185 pages and 41 audios to a total of 532.5 hours.  I had ten five star novels and six five star nonfiction reads.

Some years, I announce a number one choice for fiction and one for nonfiction.  Others, I find it impossible to rank them, so I just list them all.  I try to always select five each for fiction and nonfiction, but some years, I just have to cheat.  Trying to pick five novels this year, let alone select a number one, has been nearly impossible.  However, last year I made a commitment to play by the rules, at least to the extent of picking five in each category.  This year I’m forcing myself to pick a number one selection in each category as well.

So…Lit in the Last Frontier’s number one novel of 2017 is:

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne

John Boyne is best known for his stark, shocking novel, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.  He has managed to take all the emotion that he poured into that YA novel and double it in his newest adult release, The Heart’s Invisible Furies.  This novel explores those universal questions: who am I?, where do I come from?, and where am I going?  Layer in an intricately wrought exploration of love, and you have a novel being justifiably hailed as “transcendent.”  As I think back on reading this tale, it isn’t plot twists or even the characterizations that come into my mind.  It is the way the book deposited a lump in my throat and a tightness in my chest every time I cracked open its cover.

The other four fabulous novels, in no particular order, to make my Fiction Five for 2017 are:

A Memory of Violets by Hazel Gaynor

A reading friend of mine, Sheila, recommended this one for me, and it almost took my top pick for the year.  Sheila says that it reminds her of a Dickens novel where everyone is nice.  On one hand I agree with her, but at the same time, it doesn’t pull any punches describing the squalor and hardship suffered by street children during the Age of Industry in England’s big cities.  This historical fiction, based on actual people and events, has been put on my daughters’ high school reading list.

News of the World by Paulette Jiles

Of all my selections, this short novel about two lonely people, an older man and a young girl, who look out for each other as they travel in the Old West, is the least heart-wrenching.  Which isn’t to say that it lacks emotion; tissues are still required.

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

You will need tissues from start to finish for this historical fiction that is also based on true events.  There are two plot lines, one following stolen children during the Great Depression and the other a modern family living with its legacy.  This is a staggeringly beautiful novel that is in turns uplifting and gut-wrenching and will keep you riveted until the last page.  It is another novel that almost took my top spot for the year.  Of all my fiction selections, this is the only one I’d really recommend for good book club discussions.

Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva

One of the last books I read this year, this biographical historical fiction about Charles Dickens and the writing of his Christmas Carol knocked A Gentleman in Moscow out of my top five (or maybe Homegoing—so many good ones this year!).  Samantha Silva did a masterful job of creating a plot that echoes the themes of A Christmas Carol and yet remains fresh.  

Honorable Mentions for 2017 fiction are:

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens

Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King and Owen King

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The top billing for 2017 nonfiction, a hands-down winner, is:

The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir by Alexandria Marzano Lesnevich

I knew from the moment I finished this true crime story that it would be my number one nonfiction of the year.  It is just that striking; I’ve never read another book like it.  The author tells the story of her own abuse woven into the fabric of the story of a death penalty criminal for whom she has been tasked to prepare a legal defense.  It is a story of wrestling with demons, finding moral footing, and exploring whether truth can ever be an absolute.  If you struggle with dealing with an abusive past, this might be too intense for you; for all others, this is a must read.  This would be a fabulous, fabulous book club selection!

The four other nonfiction works to make the 2017 cut are:

Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink

The author was a physician in New Orleans, working at Memorial when Hurricane Katrina hit.  This is the shocking story of what went on in that medical facility during and after the storm.  It is not a pretty story.  This is another book that would be great for book clubs.

The Loyal Son: The War in Ben Franklin’s House by Daniel Mark Epstein

I love a book that rehashes a story we all know but does it from a totally different perspective.  Everyone knows the story of Ben Franklin and the role he played in the Revolutionary War.  The story that is seldom told is that of his son, William, who remained loyal to the Crown, and the tension that existed in their family as a result of their divided loyalties.  This is an engrossing, well-written work telling both sides of the story.

Love, Africa: A Memoir of Romance, War, and Survival by Jeffrey Gettleman

This work takes the “journalist in a danger zone” story and pumps it up to a whole new level.  Jeffrey Gettleman writes a beautifully candid narrative expressing his love affair with Africa and how he feels called as a journalist to share the stories of both carnage and hope to be found there.  The other side of the narrative is that of his other love: his wife and their family and his struggle to find a life of balance between the family he treasures and the stories he knows he is meant to write.  I read a lot of this genre of books, but I have to say, I really, really loved this book and hope it gets a wider readership.  If I hadn’t read Fact of a Body this year, this would have been my top pick for nonfiction.

American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes, and Trial of Patty Hearst by Jeffrey Toobin

I knew only the basic outline of the story of Patty Hearst, so experiencing it in all of its crazy glory through the writing of a narrative nonfiction master, Jeffrey Toobin, was a wonderful reading experience.  I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to know the full story beyond all the media hype.

Nonfiction honorable mention for 2017 goes to:

In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

My number one audio for 2017 is:

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

This was another book that was strongly in the running for my number one fiction slot this year.  I’m glad the audio is so fabulous, allowing me to give this story of two sisters, one sold into slavery, the other married to a slaver, its due.  This novel, which reads like a series of interconnected stories, traces the descendants of both sisters for three hundred years.  The audio can get a little challenging to follow who is narrating, but the quality of the narration makes up for those issues.  Whether you do it in print or audio, this is a must read! If you would like to read my full review, you can do so here.

Honorable mention for 2017 audio goes to:

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald  You can read my review here.

I hope your reading year was amazing, and I wish you a fabulously bookish 2018!