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  • Doesn't look like I'll be getting to anything new before the year ends, so here's my end of the year "Best Of 2017". Most years I have trouble with the top of this list, but for me this year was easy. The hard part this year is listing 10 that I really liked. Keep in mind, I'm only including books published in 2017. While a very solid reading year at the top of the list, the bottom of this year's list contains books that wouldn't have sniffed the list the past several years. I'm going to leave a gap in the list where I feel like the quality between two offerings is significant enough to warrant more than one slot in rankings in most other years. As always, your mileage will vary.

    So here goes, my "Best literary fiction 2017"

    1. Sing, Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward
    2. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
    3. Autumn by Ali Smith
    4. Human Acts by Han Kang

    5. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

    6. The Leavers by Lisa Ko
    7. The Golden House by Salman Rushdie
    8. Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich
    9. American War by Omar El Akkad
    10. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

    Honorable Mention:

    Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami (I feel like he's written the same book several times now, whiskey, a lonely dude, a cat and lots of awkwardly described sex (but not with the cat)).

    The Blinds by Adam Sternbergh (technically crime fiction but it's literary enough to qualify for the list)

    And my "WTF?" award goes to:
    Homesick For Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh
    Last edited by SteelBlue; 12-05-2017, 12:58 PM.

    Comment


    • Originally posted by SteelBlue View Post
      Doesn't look like I'll be getting to anything new before the year ends, so here's my end of the year "Best Of 2017". Most years I have trouble with the top of this list, but for me this year was easy. The hard part this year is listing 10 that I really liked. Keep in mind, I'm only including books published in 2017. While a very solid reading year at the top of the list, the bottom of this year's list contains books that wouldn't have sniffed the list the past several years. I'm going to leave a gap in the list where I feel like the quality between two offerings is significant enough to warrant more than one slot in rankings in most other years. As always, your mileage will vary.

      So here goes, my "Best literary fiction 2017"

      1. Sing, Unburied Sing by Jesmin Ward
      2. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
      3. Autumn by Ali Smith
      4. Human Acts by Han Kang

      5. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

      6. The Leavers by Lisa Ko
      7. The Golden House by Salman Rushdie
      8. Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich
      9. American War by Omar El Akkad
      10. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

      Honorable Mention:

      Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami (I feel like he's written the same book several times now, whiskey, a lonely dude, a cat and lots of awkwardly described sex (but not with the cat)).

      The Blinds by Adam Sternbergh

      And my "WTF?" award goes to:
      Homesick For Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh
      Thanks. This what I was hoping you and couple of the other board bibliophiles would comment, when I started the other thread.

      Comment


      • My favorite books from this year:
        1. Sing, Unburied Sing by Jesmin Ward
        2. Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor

        3. Autumn by Ali Smith
        4. Dark at the Crossing by Elliot Ackerman
        5. History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund

        6. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
        7. The Leavers by Lisa Ko


        I like the "WTF" category:
        The Seventh Function of Language: A Novel by some french guy
        Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders - mainly I list this here to bug SB

        Best books I read from prior years:
        The Remains of the Day by Kazou Ishiguro (1989)
        Norwegian by Night by Derek Miller (2012)
        A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (2016)
        The North Water by Ian McGuire (2016)
        Miss Jane by Brad Watson (2016) - I cant remember if I listed this last year, but it was a beautiful book.

        Comment


        • Originally posted by clackamascoug View Post
          Just finished Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. Yes, he actually wrote it himself. He goes into great detail about the early days of Blue Ribbon Sports and how NIKE came to be. For 18 years he was on the verge of going out of business without enough cash flow, and trying to grow the business. He shares some things that must have been difficult for him to disclose.

          A very poignant moment was the death of Steve Prefontaine, and he goes into great detail of his last race. I found this part most interesting, because I was in Eugene that night as a 15 year old kid for the State T&F Championships at Hayward field the next day. I was at Pre's last race and my friend Dave got his autograph. I got the autograph of Mac Wilkins. We woke up the next morning to the news, and the whole city of Eugene was in shock. To say the Pre was a beautiful man would be an understatement. He was a 24 year old god.
          this one is great
          Te Occidere Possunt Sed Te Edere Non Possunt Nefas Est.

          Comment


          • Originally posted by BigPiney View Post
            My favorite books from this year:
            1. Sing, Unburied Sing by Jesmin Ward
            2. Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor

            3. Autumn by Ali Smith
            4. Dark at the Crossing by Elliot Ackerman
            5. History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund

            6. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
            7. The Leavers by Lisa Ko


            I like the "WTF" category:
            The Seventh Function of Language: A Novel by some french guy
            Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders - mainly I list this here to bug SB

            Best books I read from prior years:
            The Remains of the Day by Kazou Ishiguro (1989)
            Norwegian by Night by Derek Miller (2012)
            A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (2016)
            The North Water by Ian McGuire (2016)
            Miss Jane by Brad Watson (2016) - I cant remember if I listed this last year, but it was a beautiful book.

            Ha ha, it’s like the only one we’ve ever really disagreed on. I like listing books you read this year from others. I’m going to edit mine when I get a few minutes. Still need to read Reservoir 13.

            Comment


            • Thanks for the lists... I'm pining for a good book. I'm halfway through Origins by DB... and I have to turn it off after an hour because it puts me to sleep - which is not a good thing when you're driving. My least favorite book this year was Steve Bezos... way boring, and after listening to it... I return it to Amazon for a full refund and another credit. Now... for you irony police... isn't that irony?

              When poet puts pen to paper imagination breathes life, finding hearth and home.
              -Mid Summer's Night Dream

              Comment


              • Originally posted by clackamascoug View Post
                Thanks for the lists... I'm pining for a good book. I'm halfway through Origins by DB... and I have to turn it off after an hour because it puts me to sleep - which is not a good thing when you're driving. My least favorite book this year was Steve Bezos... way boring, and after listening to it... I return it to Amazon for a full refund and another credit. Now... for you irony police... isn't that irony?
                Sorry. Not irony.
                "There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
                "It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
                "Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster

                Comment


                • I posted this in AV thread, but I think it should be posted here also

                  These are books I read in 2017, not necessarily released in 2017

                  Books I gave 5 stars on Goodreads

                  NF

                  High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic by Glenn Frankel (Goodreads Author)
                  Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe by Robert Matzen (Goodreads Author)
                  The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan
                  Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick (Goodreads Author)

                  FIC

                  Judgment at Appomattox (Civil War #5) by Ralph Peters
                  The Frozen Hours: A Novel of the Korean War by Jeff Shaara

                  Books I didn't feel were quite 5 star reads, but really liked none-the-less

                  4+ star

                  NF

                  A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre, John le Carré (Afterword)
                  Dodgerland: Decadent Los Angeles and the 1977–78 Dodgers by Michael Fallon
                  Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill by Candice Millard
                  The Time Traveller's Guide to Restoration Britain: Life in the Age of Samuel Pepys, Isaac Newton and The Great Fire of London (Time Traveller's Guides #3) by Ian Mortimer (Goodreads Author)
                  Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America by John M. Barry
                  Rogue Heroes: The History of the SAS, Britain's Secret Special Forces Unit That Sabotaged the Nazis and Changed the Nature of War by Ben Macintyre
                  The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III, Father of the English Nation by Ian Mortimer (Goodreads Author)
                  The Legends Club: Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Valvano, and an Epic College Basketball Rivalry by John Feinstein

                  Fic

                  The Trespasser (Dublin Murder Squad #6) by Tana French (Goodreads Author)
                  Hannibal: Enemy of Rome (Hannibal #1) by Ben Kane
                  The Commodore (World War 2 Navy) by P.T. Deutermann

                  I may be small, but I'm slow.

                  A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."

                  Comment


                  • Originally posted by happyone View Post
                    I posted this in AV thread, but I think it should be posted here also
                    Lol @ Art. Has to have his own book thread!
                    "There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
                    "It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
                    "Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by Jeff Lebowski View Post
                      Lol @ Art. Has to have his own book thread!
                      Book thread "for the rest of us".... sounds stupid if you ask me.

                      When poet puts pen to paper imagination breathes life, finding hearth and home.
                      -Mid Summer's Night Dream

                      Comment


                      • Just finishing Thomas Mann's classic "The Magic Mountain". About a young German man who goes to a (ritzy) TB sanitarium in the Swiss Alps to visit his cousin for 3 weeks and ends up being diagnosed as ill and staying 7 years. Beautifully written (I'm reading the Woods translation which is supposed to be the best) and touches on many of my favorite themes especially that of time. Highly recommended.

                        Comment


                        • Recently finished Heart of Darkness by Conrad. A story about a mission to retrieve an executive of an ivory trading company in the Congo. If you don't know, it's the book that was adapted into the film Apocalypse Now.

                          Next I read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, a novel written largely in response to Conrad's (and others). I enjoyed both books and reading them together provides a stark contrast in the way natives are portrayed (by design of course, Achebe's novel was published in 1958 and Conrad's in 1899). Both are quick reads and highly recommended.

                          Comment


                          • Originally posted by SteelBlue View Post
                            Recently finished Heart of Darkness by Conrad. A story about a mission to retrieve an executive of an ivory trading company in the Congo. If you don't know, it's the book that was adapted into the film Apocalypse Now.
                            I thought everybody was forced to read this in HS. The horror!
                            "There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
                            "It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
                            "Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster

                            Comment


                            • Originally posted by Jeff Lebowski View Post
                              I thought everybody was forced to read this in HS. The horror!
                              I wasn't. I wish I had been, I liked it.

                              Comment


                              • Started listening to The Nix yesterday.
                                "I think it was King Benjamin who said 'you sorry ass shitbags who have no skills that the market values also have an obligation to have the attitude that if one day you do in fact win the PowerBall Lottery that you will then impart of your substance to those without.'"
                                - Goatnapper'96

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