My Favorite Books of 2017!

Reading has been my hobby and my passion for as long as I can remember. The reasons are plenty. For one, reading gives me an escape from reality. It’s comforting to the point where my soul is scattered in multiple books. And I keep finding the pieces in newer books.

Another major reason why I love reading is the way it helps my imagination. Inside my head, new worlds are created, new characters take birth, and anything and everything is possible. There can be no question as to why something is happening unless the book I am reading is really bad. But in the larger picture, despite the existence of bad books, the entire experience is totally worth it. It helps me develop my ideas and gives me a basis on which to support them. It helps me learn more about the world and the people in it. And it helps me connect with people.

So when people say they hate reading, I look at them strangely. But then again, not everyone is the same. Not everybody loves the same things. And all I can tell myself is: To each, his own.

2017 has been a great year for me in terms of reading. I read a couple of new authors in addition to a few classics, and also found some surprisingly good books that affected me like no other. So as the year comes to an end, I decided to compile a list of the 10 best books that I read this year. I’ve read 91 books so far and will finish the year at 93 (or 94). 🙂

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Turtles All The Way Down – John Green

I am a HUGE John Green fan. One of the biggest reasons is that his protagonists are everyday teenagers, but they aren’t dumb. Every book he writes has an intriguing title, like Turtles All The Way Down. Mental illness and the title of this one don’t seem at all congruent, but trust me, they’re together as much as you’d love to believe.

Read my full review here: Review – Turtles All The Way Down

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One Day – David Nicholls

David Nicholls’s dark humor is famed. In One Day, he brings poignant romance with humor and wit. This story follows Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew on one day every year – where they are in life and in geography. Even so, it doesn’t lose the pace and tells us everything we want to know about the two protagonists. It’s beautiful in its longing, despondency, and charm.

Read my full review here: Review – One Day

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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd – Agatha Christie

I had held Agatha Christie in high esteem long before I read this book. But my image of her whirled and took her to a higher pedestal when I read this one. Mind-boggling in its Christie-esqueness, it will take you time to come to terms with what you have read once you finish it. And never will you stop marveling at the literary genius called Agatha Christie, the queen of murder mysteries.

Read my full review here: Review: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

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The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway

I had this book on my to-read list and my Kindle shelf for a long time before I finally decided to read it. There isn’t an iota of doubt why this one figures on so many bestseller lists. Hemingway’s classic is an inspiration that stresses on the importance of willpower. And what an inspiration it is!

Read my full review here: Review: The Old Man and the Sea

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The Flawed Duology – Cecelia Ahern

A part of the Flawed duology, these two books by Cecelia Ahern are absolutely spine-chilling. There is so much one can learn from these two books when you compare the incidents with reality. It describes society and humanity in ways that you couldn’t even fathom it could be done. Flawed was an impulsive buy and Perfect, I bought without a second thought. The Flawed duology left me awed!

Read my full review here: Review: The Flawed Duology

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Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl is, without a doubt, one of the most disturbing novels I have ever read, apart from 1984 and Animal Farm. I know I will read a lot more like this, but this book is chilling in so many ways. We think that people can get possessive and vindictive, but Gone Girl shows the extent to which they can fall. I still get the shivers when I think of Amy Dunne.

Read my full review here: Review: Gone Girl

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Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe

This novel I owned for a long time but 2017 was when I decided to finally read it like many others. What a book it is! It saddened me to no end to read this story so much that I couldn’t bring myself to write a review of it. Because what is there to say when everything looks like it’s about to collapse and finally, things fall apart?

I now need to go and get the other two books in this trilogy.

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Metamorphosis – Franz Kafka

Another book that I left unread for a long time. Metamorphosis is the physical depiction of what many of us feel every day. And to find yourself identifying with Gregor Samsa and the positions he finds himself in since his transformation? Heartbreaking! A metaphor can unsettle you to no end, and this book, Metamorphosis is full of such metaphors which, by the time you understand the extent of its depth, will leave you unsettled and overwhelmed in the best way possible!

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Three Men in a Boat – Jerome K. Jerome

In a time when humor needs to be careful, I read this gem and thoroughly enjoyed every page of it. No other story/account has made me laugh as much as Three Men in a Boat has. It reminded me that humor is in the simple things. The narrative is smooth and even puts modern humor to shame. Thank heavens for the existence of books like these! Three Men on the Bummel is on my list now!

Read my full review here: Review – Three Men in a Boat

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Bonus Mention: Adulthood Is a Myth: A Sarah’s Scribbles Collection:

This comic book deserves special mention because of how relatable every strip in the book is. I wanted to buy the hardcover but because it was expensive, had to settle for the Kindle one. And I don’t regret it one bit, though I think I will buy the hard copy at some time in the future. Sarah Andersen is a genius realist cartoonist!

Read my full review here: Review – Adulthood Is a Myth: A Sarah’s Scribbles Collection

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Those were my favorite books of 2017. Which of these have you read and loved? What were your favorite books of 2017? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time, keep reading and add melodrama to your life. 🙂