2017 - the year in books

Triumphantly, this will be the first time all of the books I have read during the year will be captured in one list. Positive changes are already happening in 2018!

My favorite fiction read during 2017 was Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan. It was also one of Barre & Books club selections. Egan's characters and story lines develop like life itself - full of warmth, love, surprises, pain and ultimately a sense of meaning and acceptance.

My favorite non-fiction read during 2017 was The Emperor of All Maladies by Sidhartha Mukherjee. What a story teller as only a brilliant doctor and deeply caring person can be. He humanizes every development within the individual cases as well as the basis of knowledge and treatment.

The rest of the list will be by format in which the book was read with a rating which will also indicate if it was one of our *Barre & Books club selections.

Kindle: (5)

Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews - good

The Missing by Caroline Erikssdon - skip

The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni - best business book of the year

His Bloody Project by G.M.Bennett - very good, odd and insightful

The Naturalist by Andrew Mayne - good

Nook: (33)

The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore - excellent, story of Edison, Westinghouse and Tesla.

Before the Fall by Noah Hawley - good

In the Dark Places by Peter Robinson - good

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch - good

Disappearance at Devil's Rock by Paul Trembley - good

Lovers at The Chameleon Club by Francine Prose - good

The Girl Before by JP Delaney - ok

The Steel Kiss by Jeffrey Deaver - ok

Charm City by Laura Lippman - skip

The Fall by John Lescroart - ok

Enchantments by Kathryn Harrison - ok

The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher by Hillary Mantel - very good

Red Rising by Pierce Brown - loved this fantasy thriller!

Golden Son by Pierce Brown - so glad Tiffany recommended this to me!

The Emperor of All Maladies by Sidhartha Mukherjee - best book of 2017 -if too much of a commitment for you, read at least the first and last chapters

Testimony by Scott Turrow - good

Northanger Abbey by Val McDermod - good retelling of Austin

Shylock Is My Name by Howard Jacobson - very good retelling of "The Merchant of Venice"

The Force by Don Winslow - excellent police thriller

Natchez Burning by Greg Iles - love this series

The Bone Tree by Greg Iles

Mississippi Blood by Greg Iles

The Quiet Game by Greg Iles

The Dry by Jane Harper - very good, greatly appreciated the layering

Fate and Furies by Lauren Groff - good

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz - very good, super inventive!

The Address by Fiona Davis - very good, social consciousness rooted in historical fact - also fun escapism with NY flavor

IT by Stephen King - couldn't put it down even while wishing I had never picked it up

Strangers at the Feast by Jennifer Vanderbee - good

The Circle by Dave Eggars - excellent

The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo - good

Artemis by Andy Weir - very very good, and only pales compared to The Martian

Lincoln in the Bardo by Greg Saunders - very good

Hard Cover: (13)

Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout - profound, wise, surprising, absorbing - so good you want to read it again as soon as finishing it.

*The Opposite of Everyone by Joshlyn Jackson - very good and written by a local Atlanta author with our beloved neighborhoods as part of the story

*The Census Taker by China Mieville - very well written and forces you to think

Celestial Mechanics by William Least Heat-Moon - thoroughly enjoyed this romp through sense of self, love, integrity and illusion - story includes real estate and a cat to boot!

*Four Letters of Love by Niall Williams - familial relationship and the near and far of longing and love

*New Boy by Tracey Chevalier - retelling of Othello mostly loved by the Barre and Books club

Mrs Osmond by John Banville - beautifully written continuation of Portrait of a Lady, the characters are not as alive though

The Power by Naomi Alderman - electric, it is a potent charge to read

Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo - fascinating story of family (both tenuous and shackled) with a tumultuous political backdrop

*Bear Town by Fredrik Backman - what can I tell you? Love this writer.

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett - be careful what you wish for, and hug those you love close ... always

*The Gypsy Moth Summer by John Fierro - very good with the sweep of Shakespearean song ... at times

*Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan - read it

Soft Cover:

Guardians of Being by Eckhart Tolle - joy ... thank you Jane!

* Denotes the Barre and Books club selections

Also a host of business books read which do not need to be noted

Periodicals are "The Economist", "New York Times", and "Vanity Fair"

Daily reading of Inc for business insight and inspiration

Daily reading for life insight and inspiration:

A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy

The Intellectual Devotional by Kidder & Oppenehim

Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach

For the love of words and worlds!!!