2017 is coming to a close, but if there's one thing that stands out from this year, it's all of the great books.
From poignant, socially conscious YA novels like The Hate U Giveby Angie Thomas to haunting short stories like Things We Lost In The Fire by Mariana Enriquez, 2017 was a year that shined bright with unforgettable literature.
SEE ALSO:Amazon's top books of 2017 reflect the crazy-ass year we just lived throughThis week on the MashReads Podcast, we look back and chat about what we read in 2017.
You can check out the highlights from our conversation below.
Favorite new book
(For books newly published in 2017)
The Hate U Give
by Angie Thomas
Aliza says: "It's just this really beautiful book that combines a really relatable, very specific but universal teen story about figuring out your place in the world, with the struggles that black teenagers face, police violence, and all the complicated aspects of that. It's just an amazing, well written debut." (Listen to the MashReads' full podcast discussion here.)
The Idiot
by Elif Batuman
Peter says: "It was beautifully written and [had] such a singular voice and personality that really just shook me." (Listen to the full MashReads Podcast discussion here.)
Things We Lost In The Fire
by Mariana Enriquez
Peter says: "It was just right up my alley in a thousand ways." (Listen to the full MashReads Podcast discussion here.)
Don't Call Us Dead
by Danez Smith
MJ says: "I still get chills when I think about it. That opening poem. When I think back on this year, that poem — and the way it made me feel and the way it made me think and the discussion we had here — will be a shining light." (Listen to the full MashReads Podcast discussion here.)
Most unexpected book that you loved
(For books outside our comfort zone that we found ourselves obsessing over)
There's Someone Inside Your House
by Stephanie Perkins
Aliza says: "It's not totally outside my wheelhouse in that it's YA but it is a pretty gruesome slasher book, and I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it, and I ended up loving it. I thought it was so interesting and fit in so perfectly with my foray into horror." (Listen to the full MashReads Podcast discussion here.)
Things We Lost In The Fire
by Mariana Enriquez
MJ says: "I'm known to love short stories, but known to not be interested in occult and paranormal stuff. But I think this collection toed [the line between] those two genres and merged them with the type of literary fiction and short story structures that I really, really enjoyed." (Listen to the full MashReads Podcast discussion here.)
Grief Is The Thing With Feathers
by Max Porter
Peter says: "I didn't think I would dislike it, but I did not expect to love it as much as I did. [I wept] constantly while reading it. But it was a good cry, a very cleansing lovely cry, all through reading that." (Listen to the full MashReads Podcast discussion here.)
The most challenging thing you read
(For books that might not have been the best fit for us but we read anyway)
South and West
by Joan Didion
MJ says: "I LOVE Joan Didion. I was so inspired to pursue writing because of her. 'South and West' is a collection of her notes. The reason why it's so challenging though is that it's just notes that were marketed as a book. So it's really interesting getting a peek into her thought process, and I would recommend people read it because it offers a glimpse into how she structures, and what she's looking for when she crafts those iconic essays. But it's just hard to read because you have such an expectation of what you're going to get from a Joan Didion story, and it's just not a story."
Goodbye Days
by Jeff Zentner
MJ says: "Goodbye Days was a tough one because it was TOO in my wheelhouse. It was a lot of YA, it was a lot of grief. But I think about it so fondly now because of that line 'do you think he ever got to love anyone the way he wanted to.' (Which comes when a grandmother finds out her grandson is gay, and mourns the fact that he didn't get to live his full life.) That line sits in my heart. So I think of that book fondly though at the time while reading it, it was definitely a challenge for me." (Listen to the full MashReads Podcast discussion here.)
My Absolute Darling
by Gabriel Tallent
Aliza says: "I didn't like the characters, didn't like [Tallent's] writing style, didn't like the way he wrote about women and women's bodies. Just not for me at all. I love that people are getting something out of this book, especially if it can do anything to help victims of assault, I'm happy about it." (Listen to the full MashReads Podcast discussion here.)
The Gunslinger
by Stephen King
Aliza says: "Again. A man that doesn't know how to write about women. Those sex scenes will haunt me. Forever. That being said, I've read a couple Stephen King books. This was the first Stephen King book I didn't like." (Listen to the full MashReads Podcast discussion here.)
History Is All You Left Me
by Adam Silvera
Peter says: "Every page was a struggle, [but] not because it was boring. That book sapped me of energy ... I couldn't deal with the preciousness. I had a lot of trouble with the characters, what they did, their motivations. I give that book a lot of credit for many things, and I'm not sad that I read it. It was just hard." (Listen to the full MashReads Podcast discussion here.)
The unsung hero of 2017 literature
(For outstanding books that we think deserve more praise and attention)
The Language of Thorns
by Leigh Bardugo
Aliza says: "They're beautiful folk tales with beautiful illustrations. It was just amazing and beautiful and empowering and dark in a great way." (Read MashReads' interview with Leigh Bardugo here.)
Goodbye Days
by Jeff Zentner
Aliza says: "I like the fact that he was confronting these ideas of responsibility. I like the way that he writes teenagers ... I like his turns of phrase. As emotional as that book was for me, I left it feeling good." (Listen to the full MashReads Podcast discussion here.)
Fever Dream
by Samanta Sweblin
Peter says: "I still think that book is incredible. It honestly turns my head around and around and around. It's a fever dream of a book, and I think it's magical in a way that no book has been for me in a very long time." (Listen to the full MashReads Podcast discussion here.)
Universal Harvester
by John Darnielle
Peter says: "It's not a perfect book, and I do think it fails in some ways but I found it to be gripping and affecting, and I've thought about that book a lot this year, because honestly I do think there are some haunting, haunting things in that book that I don't think will leave me anytime soon." (Listen to the full MashReads Podcast discussion here.)
Release
by Patrick Ness
MJ says: "I adored that book! I loved it so much and I didn't see it get a ton of pick up which makes me so sad. It's a quiet, little book of the day in the life of a kid who is gay, and it's modeled after Mrs. Dalloway. It's just really charming and really affecting. Everyone knows Patrick Ness from the Chaos Walking series. I think there were other YA books got more attention this year, and I feel like this one got lost, but it is so good!"
Favorite Thing You Read This Year
(Our top favorite books, newly published or older, that we read in 2017)
Their Eyes Were Watching God
by Zora Neale Hurston
Aliza says: "It was just a really amazing book. I know it's a classic but it's a classic that's often forgotten about. The book is so good. [Hurston] is such an amazing writer. It's so gripping. Just a really beautiful book and her journey still feels very timely." (Listen to the full MashReads Podcast discussion here.)
Turtles All The Way Down
by John Green
Aliza says: "That is one of the many books I got to read this year that dealt with mental health, and I'm really happy that people are writing about, and that these authors feel comfortable and brave enough to expose their battles." (Listen to the full MashReads Podcast discussion here.)
Tiny Beautiful Things
by Cheryl Strayed
Aliza says: "I think 2017 has been a bit of a garbage fire, 2018 hopefully will be better but who knows, and I think that [Strayed's] funny dark advice is what we need." (Listen to the full MashReads Podcast discussion here.)
History Is All You Left Me
by Adam Silvera
MJ says: "History Is All You Left Me was the first thing I read this year that I really loved. One of the reasons why I loved [the book] is because it was the first time I saw myself in literature. That nerdy date scene has a place in my heart forever and ever."
Lincoln in the Bardo
by George Saunders
MJ says: "It's so wildly inventive. It's a book that should not work — it's this weird-ass trip through purgatory, written as just lines of dialogue and some of the historical documents are fake — but it does. It's so genius. It has so much heart. I love that book, I recommend it to everyone, go read." (Listen to the full MashReads Podcast discussion here.)
The Upside of Unrequited
by Becky Albertalli
Aliza says: "It's amazing, and one of the first times I saw myself in a book. Shout out to Becky Albertalli for being my YA queen."
The Haunting of Hill House
by Shirley Jackson
Peter says: "It was awesome to read it with you all because I knew I loved it, but re-reading it again, I realized my previous love was a pale thing in comparison to the bright shining star that burst forth from my head [when I re-read it.]" (Listen to the full MashReads Podcast discussion here.)
Infiinite Jest
by David Foster Wallace
Peter says: "Even after [our podcast discussion], I feel like we've barely scratched the surface of this book after an hour of talking about it. It's not maybe my favorite book of all time, but its still the greatest book I've ever read. I really want to read it again. It was something that was incredibly and infinitely surprising." (Listen to the full MashReads Podcast discussion here.)
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