I read 44 books this year! Not nearly as many as I would have liked to read, but it’s more than I read last year, so I consider that a successful year of reading.

Like last year I’m going to wrap up the year by picking my favorite…but unlike last year I do not want to shout from the rooftops about the best book of the year (according to me:) Perhaps that book (for me) is still out there somewhere, and I just didn’t come across it yet.

My technique for picking favorites is imagining I can only keep 5 of the books I read in my bookcases –  because a true test of the books I love is that I want to keep them in my collection.

So with the disclaimer that I did not read even close to ALL the books (who can??) here are my favorite books that were published in 2017 :

My favorite books of 2017:

(Links are to my previous posts on these 5 books. No spoliers.)

The Prague Sonata by Bradford Morrow

Manhattan Beachby Jennifer Egan

The Heart’s Invisible Furiesby John Boyne

Magpie Murdersby Anthony Horowitz

Hunger: A Memoir of a  Body by Roxane Gay

Most popular posts of 2017

Another way I like to wrap up the year is to look at which posts were most popular with my readers. So here are my most popular posts of the year:

  1. WWII Historical Fiction – A Reading List. I continue to add to this list as I read a book that fits in.
  2. Evelyn Hugo and her Seven Husbands. This was my post on a popular summer read.
  3. New books to read this summer. My summer reading list.
  4. All the Missing Girls. My first real review continues to get a lot of hits.
  5. When literature and TV collide. This is a post about HBO’s The Night Of. I love that this still gets hits as people discover this show because it is one of my favorite posts and what I love to write about (literary cameos).

My own personal favorite post of the year was about playing book detective at jury duty.

Beyond the Bookcase

I want to mention (ok brag) that I saw and blogged about FOUR great concerts this year:

  1. Green Day
  2. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – thank goodness.
  3. The Killers, at Lollapolooza.
  4. Alan Jackson

Reading/Blogging Goals for 2018

  1. Read The Goldfinch. I literally just started this.
  2. Finish all non-fiction I have started and stalled. This includes books on Springsteen (I do love it), environment, and social justice.
  3. Watch all Oscar nominated best pictures. Like last year.
  4. Continue to read and review as many new books as possible.

Thank you for reading and supporting Leslie’s Bookcase and best wishes and happy reading to you in the New Year.