This week its all about my reading and a review of the best books I have read all year. It was so much fun to go back through my books and do a little memory lane reminiscing with all the incredible books I have read!
I will end up with 85 books finished this year, which includes Urlula K. Le Guin’s No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters. I have about 20 pages to go, so this will be super easy to finish. This is impressive for me because I began the year slowly and was 11 books behind my goal of 60 books when Summer Book Bingo started. So, to end up exceeding by 15 books ummm, that would be 25 books!! I am quite proud of myself!
I had hoped to finish Jennifer Egan’s Manhattan Beach, but I don’t think that is likely to happen, but that means it will be #1 for 2018 and give me a very good start for next year!
Now, on to my best of books (and really, these were the best off ā all books here received a 5-star rating from me!), starting with books I should have read long before I did:
- 1984
- Moby Dick, The Whale
- Animal Farm
- On the Road
- The English Patient
If you have not read these, I highly recommend doing so. I listened to all of them and they had incredible narration (even Moby Dick which I listed to via the Moby Dick Big Read. Now, I understand that having 136 different narrators might put some people off, but they were ALL excellent.
Up next are books that are part of a series:
- And, in first place is Louise Penny’s series with Armand Gamache. I read 4 books in this series this year: The Cruelest Month, A Rule Against Murder, Bury Your Dead, and The Brutal Telling. It seems incredible, but each story in this series is better than the one before. If you like a good mystery, this series is WONDERFUL!
- Next, is Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Department Q series. His latest installment, The Scarred Woman was SO GOOD! And, I love Carl Morck almost as much as I love Armand Gamache! Nordic Noir at its best!
- I also loved Viveca Sten’s The Sandhamn Murder Series, especially Tonight You’re Dead.
- Finally, Lotte and Soren Hammer’s series with Detective Konrad Simonsen, I found The Hanging to be the best one I have read thus far, but I enjoyed the other books in this series too.
I delved a bit into poetry this year, and was so pleasantly surprised by how much it resonated with me. I devoured two Mary Oliver Books: A Thousand Mornings, and Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver. I also loved Wendell Berry’s A Small Porch: Sabbath Poems 2014. Expect to see more poetry in 2018!
I also snuck in a children’s book: The Night Gardener, which was lovely in word and picture.
I read one biography: Hillary Clinton’s What Happened. It was cathartic for me and beautifully read by Hillary herself.
Now for the rest of the list and there are many, but trust me each of these books has stayed with me, they are thought provoking, moving, and at times uncomfortable. But, good books should stretch us and sometimes take us out of our comfort zone. These books do that and more:
- The Secret History
- I am the Messenger
- A Gentleman in Moscow
- The Nix
- 4 3 2 1
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
- And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer
- Lincoln in the Bardo
- The Help
- South of Broad
- Beach Music
- Millard Salter’s Last Day
- Life After Life
- Little Fires Everywhere
- Sing, Unburied, Sing
- Elmet
- The History of Love
So much good reading this year, and I am equally excited about next year. I am participating in Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge, because one thing I learned this year was that those books that were outside of my comfort zone were some of the best books I read all year long!
And, so, it is almost time to set my Goodreads goal next year, and I am going to challenge myself there as well with a goal of 100 books.
What about you? What was your favorite book (books?) of the year!
ALSO!! Because, simply-linked has been performing less than optimally (but what can I expect for a free application!) Please leave your blog link in comments. Thanks for your patience and participation as I work out the best way to make this work best for all of us!
P.S. Sorry about the bad photo today, but the light has not been cooperative at all. But, my sweater grows, I am almost done with the waist shaping and then have about an inch and a half before the colorwork at the bottom (and then on to the sleeves so, sadly there is no chance this will be done this year)
I’m impressed with your reading this year. I read 32 books all print form – mostly real books but some kindle. I just started another Louise Penny book, it’s like visiting old friends š Thanks for the link about meditation- I’m glad you sent it to me – once the company leaves, I’m starting some meditation to chill out my brain.
You get the reading award this year. So many books — and many of them substantial reads! I love George Orwell and want to read more of his work in 2018.
Here’s my link: https://caffeinegirlcreates.blogspot.com/2017/12/in-for-long-haul.html
You read about as much as my Daughter! Wow. I am reading poetry right now too. Al’s going to write book stuff on my blog instead of monday q and A. She’ll write two blog posts a month on two tuesdays. We are calling it two tuesday texts.
Compassionknit.wordpress.com
I went above my challenge on goodreads, mostly because of the summer bingo challenge and all the wonderful recommendations from you and other lovely bloggers. I am thinking about how to keep it up next year too. Here is my post for today – https://chasingstories.wordpress.com/2017/12/26/unraveled-wednesday-snow-days/
Thanks again for your wonderful posts Kat.
I’m not going to reach my goal, and may not even meet last year’s number, but I am OK with that… I read some amazing books and, even better, lived some pretty great life last year!!
Here’s my Unraveled post for today: http://www.knitorious.life/2017/12/unraveled-in-the-nick-of-time.html
I’ll admire that sweater in any light! My favorite books from this year would include Bambi, Little Fires Everywhere, Stillmeadow Seasons, Beartown, and there may still be a few others in the waning days of 2017. Happy Reading and Knitting in 2018!
My link: http://highlyreasonable.blogspot.com/2017/12/unraveled-wednesday_27.html
What a great year of reading !
https://km-kat.com/2017/12/27/unraveled-wednesday-15/
Your sweater is looking beautiful! I’ve read a lot of good books this year and my top three are A Gentleman in Moscow, Bambi, & Blanche Wiesen Cook’s three volume biography of Eleanor Roosevelt. Here’s to more good reading & knitting in 2018!
Several of your titles are on my 2018 TBR. I surpassed my goal of 60 books and might go for 70 this year. I find audiobooks help–I knit and listen.
http://www.kwizgiver.com/2017/12/unraveled-wednesday_27.html
That’s a LOT of reading and going for 100 in 2018 is impressive! I’m at 76 books for the year right not and should make it to 77 which is nice and sevens-y for 2017! I was thinking we could do a March madness type of bracket thing for our best books of 2017 but now I’m thinking it’s too late.
I enjoy hearing about your books. You have given me new to me authors to try. Thank you. I hate to point this out but 85-60=25 (not 15). Great job exceeding your goal for the year. I haven’t counted my books (or pages as I track that too) for the year yet.
Congratulations! You had a wonderful year of reading!
I’m still reading Inspector Gamache – on # 4 – and plan to finish the series in 2018 – I have #13, her last and since there are 12 months in the year, I should make that goal. I might even remember to track my books in GoodReads…now that would be a novel thing for me to do! Duh! On my list is 4321, for sure and a few other fiction titles…
Cheers~
My link:
http://honorefrancois.typepad.com/morning_glory_studio/2017/12/unraveled-wednesday-27-december-2017.html
Hope you’re having a wonderful holiday! http://lovelyyarnescapes.blogspot.com/2017/12/wednesdays-yarns-christmas-gift.html
What a great year of reading!! Ali Smith’s Autumn and Sing, Unburied, Sing just came in on Overdrive. so much to read. so much to knit!
http://mere-et-filles.blogspot.com/2017/12/unraveled-wednesday_27.html
That is amazing you read 85 books! I am trying to get to 10 by the end of the year! haha
Here is my link for Unraveled Wednesday: https://needlesandwool.blogspot.ca/2017/12/blogmas-christmas-eve-and-christmas.html
That is a lot of five-star reads!
Knitting and books still to finish this year: http://www.spritewrites.net/?p=7614
Very impressive! I did not meet my goal but (at this point 25 of 35) but I may make it to 36. And since I’ve read this I’ve decided to make Armand Gamache #3 my airplane reading next week! You go girl…100 or bust!
I am pleased with myself for reading more than my goal, though my goal was only a lowly 20 books. I have definitely added some of the books you read to my to-read list for next year!