Saturday, January 06, 2018

Barb's Best of 2017

Here are my favorite books of 2017. If you want all my stats and the list of every single thing I read - click here. If you just want to read about the best of the best - you've come to the right place.

MOST ENJOYABLE READ OF THE YEAR
Dear Farenheit 451 by Annie Spence - This is a series of letters a librarian has written to books that are important to her. It is hilariously funny and also emotionally wonderful. I wish I had written it.

EVERYONE LOVED IT SO IT MUST BE AWESOME
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles – President Obama had it on his best of the year list so who I am to disagree? It starts slowly, but once you give in to the world it creates, it will break your heart in the best possible way.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – Thomas' first novel is on EVERY best of the year list and with good reason. It's a first person account of a BLM-inspired story that puts you in the shoes of a girl who is caught in the middle.
Spill Zone by Scott Westerfeld – Ooh, Scott, where have you been? This graphic novel makes me remember why I loved UGLIES so much. A weird world that has a fearless girl making her own decisions and taking chances.

MY GOSH, THESE REAL HUMANS ARE FUNNY
Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell by W. Kamau Bell, Sleepwalk with Me by Mike Birbigli and We are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby are all memoirs written by comedians that have just the right amount of pathos to make the laughts even more powerful.

PLEASE GET OUT OF MY HEAD
Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed – The story of an island community, cut off from the outside world that has a terrifyingly disturbing secret really freaked me out. But I couldn't stop reading until I figured out the big picture.
Landscape with Invisible Hand by MT Anderson – When the aliens land on earth, the promise a life of ease to everyone. And yet, things go to hell anyway.
Thornhill by Pam Smy – I only gave this one 4 stars when I read it, but I keep thinking about it. It is the very evocative story of a bullied orphan who lives in a group home and the curious girl who moves in to the house next door years later and becomes obsessed with her story.

BEST GROWN-UP READS
The Animators by Kayla Raw Whitaker – The story of two young women who meet in college and create an animated masterpiece takes you into their process and their lives in a fascinating way.
Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin – A Monica Lewinsky-type girl makes a mistake in judgement. The ripples go on and on. I enjoyed Zevin's YA books, but I adore her adult books.

THROWBACKS FIR KIDS
Eddie and his Big Deals by Carolyn Haywood – The author of the lesser-Betsy books takes a look at childhood chauvinism in the 1950s. I don't think she meant it as a cautionary tale, but for the modern reader, it surely works that way.
I Go By Sea, I Go By Land by P.L. Travers – The author of MARY POPPINS wrote this story of a pair of siblings who emigrate to the US during WWII as the war was raging. It is touching, funny and an interesting slice of history.
Journey to an 800 Number by E.L. Konigsburg – Konigsburg had a great imagination. This story of a young boy going to live with his free-spirit father and his camel one summer was fascinating and odd.

BEST NEW MIDDLE GRADE
War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley – I didn't think I could love a book as much as Bradley's The War that Saved My Life, but the sequal comes pretty danged close!
The Inquisitor's Tale by Adam Gidwicz – This clever story about some magical children and a dog, set in the middle ages is historically interesting and a grand romp.

SURE, WE'VE ALL READ IT, BUT NOT WITH PICTURES
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling – This was the same text that I practically have memorized, but the new illustrated edition (and those of the first two books in the series) add a richness that I didn't think was possible. Get them now!

BEST PICTURE BOOK
Where's Walrus? by Stephen Savage – Did it have a plot? Perhaps... There was probably a missing walrus somwhere. I just remember being completely charmed by the illustrations.

HEY GREAT NEW FANTASY WRITER!
Six of Crows, Crooked Kingdom and Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo – Bardugo is my favorite new fantasty writer. Her “Grisha-verse” novels feature young people with super-human powers in a beautifully drawn world based on Tsarist Russia. I read 6oC and CK first, although S&B (and it's two sequals) came first in her writing process. I love the world and the adventure is first rate.

HEY, GREAT NEW REALISTIC FICTION WRITER!
Moxie and Devoted by Jennifer Mathieu – Mathieu has a great feminist perspective. She writes about girls who live in situations where their voices are not respected. The heroine in Devoted is in a “Quiver-Full” family and the protagonist of Moxie is stuck at a Texas high school where chauvenistic jocks rule the school. She shows how their dawning sense of self-worth makes them willing to question the way they have been minimized in a fascinating way.

HEY, GREAT NEW CREEPY WORLD WRITER
Every Heart a Doorway and Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire - These companion books tell the story of what happens to young people who find doorways to other worlds that may not be as child-friendly as Oz or Narnia, but influence them nonetheless.

HEY, BOYS
Don't Get Caught by Kurt Dinan – I tend to read female-perspective YA, but this story of a prank war and the way it influences a disperate group of high school kids has a male perspective and a humorous point of view.
Long Way Down by Jason Reynold – Man, the hits just keep coming for Reynolds. He has been on my best of list for the past 3 years. He doesn't disappoint with this small yet powerful story about a young man considering murder as revenge for his brother's death and the ghosts who help him decide what to do.

DEFINITELY ON SUMMER READING 2018
One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus – Five kids are in detention a la THE BREAKFAST CLUB. And then one of them dies. When the murder investigation starts, no one's secrets are safe!
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon – Who knew a book about two kids whose parents are trying to arrange their marriage could be so funny and romantic. It's like a bollywood film set in San Francisco with a sassy girl who loves programming more than romance.
Amy, Chelsea, Stacey, Dee by Mary G. Thompson – Yes, it's a terrifying tale of child abduction, but when one of the girls comes back, the drawn-out process of finding the truth of what happened is just gripping.  

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My 2017 Reading Stats

Well I just managed to scrape past 100 books. I had 102. This year I only counted books that I completed. This means that in February - June I only averaged 3.3 books a month because I started a ton of stuff that I then discarded. I give a book 30-50 pages and then it goes in the scrapper. Well, not really the scrapper - it just goes back to the library. But I promptly forget about it. Hence the not even bothering to try to keep track!

As usual, I read mostly YA - 38 titles. I read 26 books for adults, 15 middle grade, 12 children's books and 7 picture books.

And as usual, I mostly read fiction - 82 titles vs. 20 non-fiction titles. And most of my non-fiction were memoirs or essays. What can I say, I like a story...

I had a banner year for graphic reading! I read 18 graphic novels - eight of which were biographies or memoirs.

I read 27, 510 pages this year - 2,292 a month - 529 a week - 75 a day. Of course, this only counts the books I finished, so really, I am just a monster of reading.

And now - the actual books! They are all 4 or 5 stars. I will highlight my best of the year in the next post...

YA

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Solo – Kwame Alexander
Landscape with Invisible Hand - MT Anderson
Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo
Crooked Kingdom - Leigh Bardugo
Shadow and Bone – Leigh Bardugo
Language of Thorns – Leigh Bardugo
I am Deborah Sampson – Patricia - Clapp
Constance: A Story of Early Plymouth - Patricia Clapp
Jane-Emily - Patricia Clapp
Don't Get Caught – Kurt Dinan
For the Record - Charlotte Huang
I Kill Giants - Joe Kelly
We are Okay - Nina LaCour
Like No Other - Una LaMarche
Outrun the Moon – Stacey Lee
Betsy was a Junior - Maud Hart Lovelace
Warcross – Marie Lu
Devoted - Jennifer Mathieu
Moxie - Jennifer Mathieu
Down Among the Sticks and Bones – Seanan McGuire
Every Heart a Doorway – Seanan McGuire
One of Us is Lying – Karen McManus
When Dimple Met Rishi – Sandhya Menon
Holding Up the Universe - Jennifer Niven
Lost at Sea - Bryan Lee O'Malley
Hanging Out With Cici - Francine Pascal
My First Love and Other Disasters - Francine Pascal
Long Way Down - Jason Reynold
Anna and the Swallow Man – Gavriel Savit
I Woke Up Dead at the Mall – Judy Sheehan
Thornhill – Pam Smy
Our Chemical Hearts – Krystal Sutherland
The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas
Amy, Chelsea, Stacey, Dee - Mary G. Thompson
Paper Girls - Brian K. Vaughn
Paper Girls 2 - Brian K. Vaughn
Paper Girls 3 Brian K. Vaughn
Love & Gelato - Jenna Evana Welch
Spill Zone – Scott Westerfeld
The Sun is Also a Star – Nicola Yoon

ADULT
Menopause Confidential - Tara Allmen
California Dreamin' - Penelope Bagieu
Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell - W. Kamau Bell
Sleepwalk with Me - Mike Birbiglia
Tetris - Box Brown
Andre the Giant - Box Brown
I'll Have What She's Having - Erin Carlson
Going in to Town - Roz Chast
Al Franken, Giant of the Senate - Al Franken
Girl in Dior - Annie Goetzinger
Victoria - Daisy Goodwin
Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi
We are Never Meeting in Real Life - Samantha Irby
Anne Frank - Sid Jacobson
An Age of License - Lucy Knisley
Gather the Daughters - Jennie Melamed
How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You - Oatmeal
Prairie Song - Cheryl Ann Porter
The Alice Network - Kate Quinn
Dear Farenheit 451 – Annie Spence
The Fifth Beatle - Vivek Tiwary
A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles
The Animators - Kayla Raw Whitaker
Flapper – Joshua Zeitz
Young Jane Young - Gabrielle Zevin
St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture 

MIDDLE GRADE
War I Finally Won - Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Girls: A History of Growing Up Female in America – Penny Colman
Inquisitor's Tale - Adam Gidwicz
Stepping on Cracks - Mary Downing Hahn
Journey to an 800 Number - E.L. Konigsburg
Compass South - Hope Larson
Snow White - Matt Phelan
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - JK Rowling
Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - J.K Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K Rowling
On the Banks of Plum Creek - Laura Ingalls Wilder
Child Soldier - Jessica Dee Humphreys

CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Thumbelina - Hans Christian Andersen
Jorah's Journal - Judith Caseley
Mary's Star - Wilma Pitchford Hayes
Eddie and his Big Deals - Carolyn Haywood
Shrinking of Treehorn - Florence Parry Heide
Dinner at Alberta's - Russell Hoban
Pippi and the South Seas - Astrid Lindgren
Fanny's Sister - Penelope Lively
Betsy-Tacy - Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy Tacy and Tib - Maud Hart Lovelace
Three by the Sea - Mildred Myrick
I Go By Sea, I Go By Land - P.L. Travers
Farmer Boy - Laura Ingalls Wilder

PICTURE BOOKS
Hoop Genius – John Coy
The Boy Who Invented TV - Kathleen Krull
John Deere That's Who - Tracy Nelson Maurer
Pop: The Invention of Bubble Gum - Megan McCarthy
Where's Walrus? - Stephen Savage
The Dark - Lemony Snicket
Awesome Minds: The Creators of the iPhone – Marne Ventura