Favorite Books of 2017: Tuesday's Reflection

Author and book store owner, Ann Patchett declared 2017 as a year of no shopping, except what she could buy in the grocery store and BOOKS. I am not ready to follow her no shopping practice, but if I did, I would definitely make the same exception for books.

I love giving books and receiving books and also selecting books for myself. I love libraries and book stores, as well as shopping my own book shelves. Don't be surprised if you see me snooping to see what you have on your shelves, too. 

And I love lists of books. 

Therefore, here's my 2017 list of favorites. 

FICTION
My top two fiction recommendations are
1.   Underground Railroad -- Colson Whitehead
2.   Little Fires Everywhere -- Cynthia Ng

Others --in no specific order
*    Lillian Boxfish Takes A Walk -- Helen Simonson
*    In This Grave Hour -- Jacqueline Winspear (the most recent in the Maisie Dobbs series)
*    LaRose -- Louise Erdrich (Also on my 2016 list. I read it again for our books group.)
*    Exit West -- Mohsin Hamid
*    A Gentleman in Moscow -- Amor Towles
*    Homegoing -- Yaa Gyasi
*    The Summer Before the War -- Helen Simonson
*    A History of Wolves -- Emily Fridlund
*    Glass Houses -- Louise Penny's most recent mystery
*    Foreign Affairs -- Allison Lurie
*    A Gathering of Birds -- Laura Harrington
*    Future Home of the Living God -- Louise Erdrich
*    Three titles by Gail Godwin: Her newest, Grief Cottage, plus two older books, The Good Husband, which I had not read before, and Father Melancholy's Daughter for the second time.
*     Books by Willa Cather. I set a goal to read all of her novels  including ones I have read before, and to read them in the order in which they were written. I read the first seven and have four more   to go. I loved rereading O Pioneers, My Antonia, and The Professor's House and also so enjoyed Song of the Lark, but don't regret reading the others either--My Mortal Enemy, One of Ours, and A Lost Lady. I hope to read her others in 2018.  

SPIRITUALITY
My favorite in this category is Ageless Soul, The Lifelong Journey Toward Meaning and Joy by Thomas Moore. I read several books on spirituality and aging this year, and this is the one I think will most help me grow spiritually as I continue to age. 

Others--in no specific order
*    The Book of Joy -- Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu
*    The Grace in Living -- Kathleen Dowling Singh
*    Two books by Diana Butler Bass: Grounded, Finding God in the World, A Spiritual Revolution and Christianity for the Rest of Us, How the Neighborhood Church is Transforming the Faith
*    Voices in the Stone, Life Lessons from the Native Way -- Kent Nerburn
*    Take This Bread -- Sara Miles
*    We Make This Road By Walking -- Brian McLaren
*    What is the Bible? How an Ancient Library of Poems, Letters, and Stories Can Transform The Way You Think and Feel About Everything -- Rob Bell.

OTHER NONFICTION
*    Men Explain Things to Me -- Rebecca Solnit
*    Hourglass, Time, Memory, Marriage --Dani Shapiro
*    The Song Poet -- Kao Kalia Yang
*    Publishing, A Writer's Memoir -- Gail Godwin (This is what led me to reread her books.)
*    On Living -- Kerry Egan (This memoir could also be included on my spirituality list.)
*    Letters to a Young Muslim -- Omar Said Ghobash
*    A Homemade Life, Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table --Molly Wizenberg

Yes, indeed, another great reading year. Although I have read many new novels, more and more I am drawn to reading older books--ones I missed earlier in my life or ones I want to reread. I assume this is part of being an older reader, but want to think more about the reasons. Nostalgia? Lack of identification with young writers and their style or topics? A realization of what I have missed and a desire to fill in the blanks? Perhaps, all of the above. 

Invitation
What have you read this past year that remains in your heart and mind? I would love to know. 

NOTE: You can find previous lists here, here, here, here, here, and finally, here.