Book of the Year Finalists:
The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emma Lang
Winner:
The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne
My Top 5:
1) The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
2) Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
3) The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
4) The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne
5) Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker
HM: Final Girls by Riley Sager
So, in making my selections for my favorite books of the year, I didn't have the largest selection to choose from, having only read 12 from 2017 (13, if I get around to The Chalk Man). Given the relatively low number, it was mostly a matter of eliminating them one by one until I had my top 5.
The first to go was Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich, which I did not enjoy at all. Next to go was Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips, then The Power by Naomi Alderman - two books I finished but didn't feel terribly positive about.
Chemistry by Weike Wang and Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong were eliminated together, as my opinion for both is about the same - liked but did not love. The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman was the next to go and was the first hard cut to be made, as I really enjoyed that book.
The dread sixth place spot took me quite awhile to make a decision on: All the remaining books would be amongst my favorites for 2017: depending on the day you asked me, 1-3 and 4-6 could shift dramatically. Ultimately, I placed Final Girls by Riley Sager at sixth, though it was hard to remove it.
Once Final Girls was cut, fourth and fifth was a battle between The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne and Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker. Though I feel the ending of the former dragged a bit, it was a much more ambitious than the latter, which ultimately lead to Emma in the Night taking the 5 spot and The Heart's Invisible Furies at 4.
I mentioned it above, but deciding between the remaining 3 was a much more arduous task than I expected. A month from now I might switch them around, depending on my mood. I decided to lay the books out and think on which I would be most likely to reread when given the chance. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid was the last I theoretically reached for in this exercise, so it got third.
Second goes to Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, as it was not the first I wanted to reread when confronted with my top 3 - but only by a hair. The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty was what I initially reached for, and I cannot argue with that selection: Though both books are amazingly well written, The City of Brass has that extra bit of magic about it (fitting, given the plot) that I know will keep me going back to it again and again in the future.
So that's my top 5 (and really, a ranking of all the books I read for that year). I may revisit this in a year or so to see if my feelings change - hopefully with some more books to be considered.
So, in making my selections for my favorite books of the year, I didn't have the largest selection to choose from, having only read 12 from 2017 (13, if I get around to The Chalk Man). Given the relatively low number, it was mostly a matter of eliminating them one by one until I had my top 5.
The first to go was Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich, which I did not enjoy at all. Next to go was Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips, then The Power by Naomi Alderman - two books I finished but didn't feel terribly positive about.
Chemistry by Weike Wang and Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong were eliminated together, as my opinion for both is about the same - liked but did not love. The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman was the next to go and was the first hard cut to be made, as I really enjoyed that book.
The dread sixth place spot took me quite awhile to make a decision on: All the remaining books would be amongst my favorites for 2017: depending on the day you asked me, 1-3 and 4-6 could shift dramatically. Ultimately, I placed Final Girls by Riley Sager at sixth, though it was hard to remove it.
Once Final Girls was cut, fourth and fifth was a battle between The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne and Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker. Though I feel the ending of the former dragged a bit, it was a much more ambitious than the latter, which ultimately lead to Emma in the Night taking the 5 spot and The Heart's Invisible Furies at 4.
I mentioned it above, but deciding between the remaining 3 was a much more arduous task than I expected. A month from now I might switch them around, depending on my mood. I decided to lay the books out and think on which I would be most likely to reread when given the chance. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid was the last I theoretically reached for in this exercise, so it got third.
Second goes to Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, as it was not the first I wanted to reread when confronted with my top 3 - but only by a hair. The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty was what I initially reached for, and I cannot argue with that selection: Though both books are amazingly well written, The City of Brass has that extra bit of magic about it (fitting, given the plot) that I know will keep me going back to it again and again in the future.
So that's my top 5 (and really, a ranking of all the books I read for that year). I may revisit this in a year or so to see if my feelings change - hopefully with some more books to be considered.
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