Last year, I completely forgot to put out my own five favorite reads of 2016, so I am going to put out my personal top 10 for 2017. I personally think that this was a great year for books! I had so much fun with books that I am familiar with and those that I discovered for the first time. I read for Indies Introduce (a program where booksellers read debut books and pick ten books to feature in the forthcoming season) and discovered some amazing books I would never have picked up (in fact my number 1 and 2 books of the year come from that program). So, overall a great reading year:
Starting with a bit of horror mixed with dystopian, The Salt
Line tells the tale of our world being driven behind salt lines by ticks. Now,
these are not some normal ticks, these things are horrible creatures that
spread death and disease around quickly. Holly Goddard Jones has some
brilliantly descriptive passages detailing these bloody scenes. The story
starts with a group of people going on an outing to the tick inhabited world
for a bit of sightseeing. You can see where this is going, right? Just a fun,
creepy read. $26.00
I have been a fan of Kristin Cashore since her first novel,
Graceling. Jane, Unlimited is unlike anything she has written to date. Jane
finds herself at a crossroads, where she could go in multiple directions and
the story would change greatly depending on her choice. Kristin Cashore
explores each path and shows us where they lead and end, kind of like a super-sized,
pumped up adrenaline choose-your-own-adventure. Brilliant concept!
This book has been getting all kinds of press lately. It
made both the Washington Post and New York Times Top 10 books of 2017. The
power that Naomi Alderman refers to, is the electricity that women are able to discharge
from themselves. As you can imagine, it changes the dynamics of the world; the
power shift in society is part of the beauty of the tale—this is the book to
read after Handmaid’s Tale!
Lee has found herself in the crosshairs of a secret society
that thinks she is the missing component of ritual they have been hoping to
complete. Running from them, she finds help from Tomi, who she doesn’t trust at
first but eventually does as she has no one else. The story unravels in the
underbelly of Philadelphia, in art theft, hacking, drugs, urban spelunking and
with a society that thinks Marcel Duchamp art holds the keys to complete understanding. Such a
fast-paced thriller, it won’t disappoint!
Such an important book for anyone living near a Great Lake,
or anyone interested in conservation of our water supply. We all know the tales
of invasive species and water shortages that could spurt water wars in the
future, but Dan Egan details all the in-and-outs that we may have missed and
need to have sharpened to deepen our understanding of this pressing issue. A must read! $27.95
Jeannie was named after her father's dead daughter, Jeanne,
from a previous marriage and The Glass Eyeis the story of how
Jeannie, in turn, copes with the grief of her own father’s death. Vanasco has
this unique and brilliant way of structuring her narrative that leaves the
reader bewildered and enlightened at the same time. She talks about the
frustration of writing this book for her father, her hero, as she copes with
her own mental breakdowns. I am not one for memoirs, but this is a rare gem
that highlights something so sacred as a daughter’s relationship to her father.
$15.95
4. The House of Government by Yuri Slezkine
Focusing on one building, where many of the Soviet elites
lived with their families. It was full of luxury and shimmered with the promise
of what was to come under Stalin. Yuri Slezkine details and tracks the families
and their internal and external dealings. So many characters! Such a rich trove
of information about life behind the Iron Curtain—but it all comes crashing
down with a great purging. Inhabitants are abducted at night never to be seen
from again. A story of how the revolution ultimately failed the true believers.
Epic and unbelievably great! $39.95
One day Apollo is happy, with work and his wife and a child. His wife
has begun to behave oddly, but that could be chalked up to depression. In one
instant, his life changes as his wife disappears and his child is gone. Apollo
must undertake a quest to discover where she has gone, and why she would wreck
the life beyond all recognition. A magical, fairytale vibe persists throughout
the book that only Victor LaValle could pull off. I have been in love with his
books since his last book, The Devil in Silver. Do yourself a favor and dip into
some of his dark tales.
I loved this book—it’s dark, and tough to read at parts but
so worth it. Stephen Florida is in his senior of college and he has big plans.
He wants to win his weight class in wrestling to solidify his legacy.
Everything goes awry with an injury. He spirals out of control and drives
himself into isolation. Gabe Habush does an excellent job of getting inside of
Stephen’s head and relaying his uncertainties and his self-destructive impulses
that he has no way to stop. I highly recommend this book.
Such a raw, festering wound kind of read--when it got really
bad, I just wanted to itch it away. Fourteen-year-old Turtle lives with her
father, Martin, outside of town, in a remote area. You will end up hating
her father, but also, you will see the true paranoid brilliance in the monster
that Gabriel Tallent created. As the Turtle unfolds the story for us, we are
treated to brutal events that shape her life and we witness her survival
instincts kick in as she begins understanding what the world could be as
opposed to the one she knows. This is a gripping story I will never forget, not
one single scene.
