My Favorite Reads of 2017
It was another awesome year of reading for me. I feel like 2016 was the year I got my mojo back and 2017 was the year I soared. I am a mostly fiction reader and the books I read challenged me, made me laugh, made me cry and took my mind to periods and places I knew little about.
My book club that I started at my work completed its second year of books and more women are involved than ever. It has really brought our team together and I love it (I’ll be writing more about the club in the coming year).
I also started a book Instagram account called @BookSnobbery and I have LOVED sharing more book content on a regular basis. (Follow the account here.)
I read 60 books, which surpassed my goal of 50 in a big way. With having a full-time job, a book manuscript due and a family, this number demonstrates that anyone can make time to do something, if they love it. I firmly believe I am a happier person when I am reading, and prioritized it many nights over chores. While my house suffered a bit, my emotional stability made it worth it – ha!
If you are someone who wants to read more, I encourage you to read this post on how busy moms can find time to read.
My Favorite Reads of 2017
Today, I am thrilled to share my top 10 books that I read in 2017. Yes, I should have published this list last week, but life was crazy and it didn’t happen. 🙂 The list is 70% fiction, 30% memoir, which is high on the memoir side given that probably 85% of the books I read this year were fiction.
Because I loved these books so much, I am going to do something I have never done before. I’m going to buy someone all ten books direct from Amazon. I am SO excited to bless someone with these books.
To enter, simply use the rafflecopter at the bottom of the post. But first, read about these books and add them all to your Amazon shopping cart, GoodReads list or library holds requests. You won’t regret any of them.
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[mybooktable book=”castle-of-water” display=”summary” buybutton_shadowbox=”false”]
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[mybooktable book=”the-sound-of-gravel” display=”summary” buybutton_shadowbox=”false”]
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Giveaway
Great list, right?? Enter to win all of these books using the Rafflecopter below.
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I am Pilgrim was a favorite of mine this year, as were so many others on your list! Adding the others to my TBR and excited to see where the next year takes our reading lives!
Thanks for sharing this list! I am excited to look into these titles. For years I let reading slide to the wayside as I was busy with little kids and work. But I realized this past year how much I missed it. I committed a few months ago to reading 40 books before 40 and have almost pulled it off! 🙂
I agree Sound of Gravel was one of my favorites this year. Some other favorites: Princess Academy, Kisses from Katie, Left to Tell, A Hope More Powerful than the Sea.
My favorite book of 2017 was 11-22-63 by Steven King. It was my first King but definitely won’t be my last. I didn’t expect to be so moved but I was. It was just wonderful.
THis was the first year I kept track of my reading. 65 books. Some of my favorites were Julie Buxbaum’s books. Joshilyn Jackson’s books especially on audio.
Thanks for the recommendations. I’m always looking for good books. I just bought Lilli de Jong.
My favorite book for 2017 was Before We Were Yours
This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp was one of my favorites. Hard to read but soooo well-written!
I’ve read This is How it Always Is and Small Great Things (and loved both of them), but none of the others. My TBR list keeps growing!
I always love your recommendations! 60 books! Amazing! My favorite book this year was “A Man called Ove.” I finished it December 30th!
I loved that book, too!
My favorite book for 2017 is Unshakeable Trust by Joyce Meyer.
“I firmly believe I am a happier person when I am reading, and prioritized it many nights over chores. While my house suffered a bit, my emotional stability made it worth it – ha!”
YES to all of this. My favorite book is hard to choose, but I really enjoyed “I’ll Push You” by Patrick Gray and Justin Skeesuck. My husband was born with spina bifida and is in a wheelchair full time, so this was an inspiring read for me.
I think Beartown was my favorite this year. So hard to choose!
Would love to win!
The Nightingale and This Is How It Always Is were probably my top 2 for this year.
I haven’t read any of them, although most are on my must read list. A Man Called Ove and The End Of Your Life Book Club have been my favorite reads of 2017.
Hmm. That is a tough question because I read about 155 books last year. I adored Michael Reeve’s Delighting in the Trinity. And I finished Y is for Yesterday at the very end of the year as I was gifted it for Christmas, and was reading it when Sue Graftons passing was announced so it was bittersweet.
Jessica- Your recommendations are always my favorite! Thank you for offering this giveaway! My favorite book of the year was At Home in the World. A Man Called Ove was a close 2nd!
I love to read and usually get so caught up in a book that I can’t put it down. I avoid housework, cooking, cleaning and everything!! Ha! Would love to read these 10 books.
The Kitchen House was incredible. Now reading Glory Over Everything by Kathleen Grissom.
Thanks for your book list. Excited to read this year!
So many of your top ten were also in my top 10! My very favorite book of 2017, and a likely spot in my top 5 of all time, was The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. I have never read anything like it and am clear blown away by the fact that it was her debut novel! The sequel comes out on October 15th, 2018…..my birthday, no less, and I cannot wait.
You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie
I read SO many good books this year, but The Dry was definitely one of my favorites.
Great list! Going to start a to read list with lots of these!
My favorite book this year was In the Middle of the Mess by Sheila Walsh.
I read 28 books in 2017, and most of them I read for one of my two bookclubs. Four books stick out as my favorite reads from last year: The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom, Commonwealth by Ann Patchett, Wonder by R.J. Palacio, and Turtles All The Way Down by John Green. Four of your top 10 books from last year are already on my to be read list!
My favorite from this year was Sara Hagerty’s Unseen. It was so good!
I think my favorite book for 2017 was Small Great Things. It made me think about some of my own actions that need to change even when well meaning.
I listened to Lilac Girls on audiobook after you recommended it on a podcast and I LOVED it! I immediately knew it would be at the top of my list (of 100 books!) for 2017. It’s definitely in my top 5 of all time.
I loved Homegoing!
so many…. I’ll go with The War I finally won for middle grade!
I would love to win these books!
Finally read “Silence” this year and OMG what a book it was.
So many good books…would love tp win!
Halfway through This Is How It Always is and have a feeling I’ll be thinking on it for a long time.
I loved The Sound of Gravel, as well! Listening to Ruth on Jen Hatmaker’s podcast was an amazing compliment to the book.
What a great list! So many that are on my TBR list already. And The Sound of Gravel…I shed so many tears while reading that book. Thank you for sharing your faveoites with us!
Thanks for sharing these, I’m always looking for a good read. Can’t believe you read 60 books, how do you ever find the time??? I never win anything but there’s always a first time, right?
My favorite read of 2017 was probably Before we Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. If you haven’t read it, I would definitely recommend it!
I read one of these books, and joined botm for the summer. I am prioritizing reading this year, along with other things for me. Me first is OK.
Lilli De Jong was one of my favorites this year! I also loved The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck.
I loved “The Roanoke Girls.” It was deeply disturbing but it was like a train wreck, I couldn’t put it down!
Finish by Jon Acuff
Hit home and just what I needed last year
I️ was so moved by “The Sound of Gravel” that I️ contacted the author. She graciously replied. Truly a book I’ll never forget.
My fave book of the year was The Book Of Joe by Jonathan Trooper. I LOVE all of his books – he creates flawed but loveable characters and he is a beautifully literary writer as well.
Tropper – not Trooper, autocorrect!!
These books sounds fantastic, and many of them were not on my radar! Adding them all to my list.
One of my favorites from 2017 was Station Eleven. I saw it was under the tree and on your TBR list. It stayed with me afterwards which I always love about a book.
I struggle to choose my favorite book! I have so many genres to choose from. I think my happiest reading moments this year have been with my 5 year old kindergartener who is learning to read – watching the stories come alive for her is magical and it takes me back to the start of my love of reading!
Great List!
I’ve recently started following Book Snobbery on Instagram and love it! Whenever I’m looking for something to read for myself or to give as a gift to someone else – I always check your blog and account for recommendations!
My favourite book I read in 2017 was The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.
ONE FAVORITE!!!?!????! Jessica, you are KILLING me. I picked 10 for my blog of the 217 I read. Does that count? If I had to choose just one? I’d say…… ugh. Probably The Hate U Give? But seriously, how about the other nine? 🙂
Castle of Water
Little Fires Everywhere
Beartown
Miss Jane
Just Mercy
Hunger
Being Mortal
At Home in the World
Reading People
And…. I’m out! 😉
Since you are WAAAYYY above average with your 200+ reads, I suppose more than one is acceptable. 🙂
Adding a few to my Amazon list .
Up From Slavery, by Booker T Washington
I had a lot of favorite reads this year, but my most recent favorite read is “Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine” by Gail Honeyman. This book made me feel all the emotions of the main character…I cheered her on throughout her journey and cried when I found out more of her backstory from her younger years. Really enjoyed this one. A couple of other honorable mentions are “Murder on the Orient Express” by Agatha Christie and “The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry” by Gabrielle Zevin.
Thanks so much for the list. I can’t wait to read them. I anxiously await your “Books I read last month” blog posts.
Sorry, I didn’t follow directions. My favorite book was Me Before You. I LOVED the audio version.
I also loved several of these books. My fave of 2017 was Column of Fire by Ken Follet. He is one of my fave authors.
Best book I read was “Mom Set Free.” Thank you for the giveaway.
I very much enjoyed Castle of Water.
Jessica,
Thank you so much for sharing your too 10 favorite book study for 2017. This year I am going to work on my reading mojo. I haven’t made reading a priority the past couple of years due to work (I’m a pastor/hospital chaplain), family issues and life. Thankfully things have calmed down and there are more opportunities to be intentional and pick up a book and read. Happy New Year!!!
This is how it always is was my absolute favorite…turtles all the way down a close second. John Greene did a fantastic job describing compulsive thoughts.
I finally read “Redeeming Love” by Francine Rivers and it was probably my favorite of 2017. I didn’t read nearly as much last year as I normally do…. gonna do better in 2018!
She’s Still There by Chrystal Evans Hurst. I lost myself in my job the past two years and resigned in May. It was a path back to myself through the Lord.
Favorites for the year:
-Finish – Jon Acuff
-The Magnolia Story
-Whistling Past the Graveyard
-The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
So many good book – love the variety!
Small Great Things was also one of my favorites this year. Excited to have some new titles to add to my read list as I go into the second birth and postpartum period in the spring!
I always dread that question “what is your favorite book?” I have so many!!!! I love love LOVE to read! And I absolutely love to see how much my kids love to read!
Jessica, you are such an inspiration. Love reading your blog.
I’ve read three of these! I read Small Great Things last year, and it is a definite all-time favorite. I loved The Lilac Girls and Britt-Marie Was Here this year.
I read lots of great books this year (including a couple on your list!) but I think the one that has stuck with me the most is The Hate U Give. It should be required reading for everyone. Amazing and brutal and hopeful and heartbreaking. All the things.
I read folly beach. New author for me and I loved her style!!
Haven’t had much time to read this year but made it a priority in the last month and have finished four books already! Loved The Nightingale!
The Sound of Gravel was also one of my favorites from 2017! I have not read many of the others on your list though!
I loved Before We Were Yours!
Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter!!
My husband and I purchased Castle on Water for his grandma for Christmas based on reviews. Looks like a good read (as well as the others you listed)!
I have enjoyed many books the past year. Some of my favorites were, She’s Still There, An Amish Christmas, The Hawaiian Quilt.
My fav book this year was “At Home in the World” which I think I saw your husband recommend on Insta…so good!
I have read half of your favorites and agree with those choices, they’re favorites of mine too! I loved This is Way it Always Is, Born A Crime, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, I Am Pilgrim and Small Great Things. I put the others on my to-read list. Thanks for the great ideas!
I’ve read 7/10 of your list! And I agree, I likes all of them. Others I’d recommend (and my favorites) were “The Light We Lost” and “Lilac Girls”. So many good books this year! I need to add the other 3 to my list.
My favorite was The Dry. 🙂
I loved “A Man Called Ove.”
I love to read and need to get back to it this year! Thanks for the encouragement!
I haven’t read any of the books on your list! My favorite from 2017 was Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. My goodness. I sobbed, prayed, and then sobbed and prayed some more after I finished it. I have enjoyed all of her books. Happy reading!
What a great list!!! The best book I read was What She Knew. I couldn’t stop reading it!!!
OMG I loved With Love From The Inside!! I cried and cried while reading the last few chapters. Like, ugly cry.
Such a good read.
I really enjoyed Lake House by Kate Morton this year. For me it was one of those books that so completely blew me away that I ran out to read every single book she has ever written. Also the fact that I consumed over 500 pages in 24 hours was such a treat. Could.not.stop.reading.it.♥️
A little late, but my favorite read this year was When Breath Becomes Air.
My fave book of 2017 was “Snow Falling,” a quick-read novella by the fictional author character Jane Gloriana Villanueva from “Jane The Virgin.” I binge-watched the first 3 seasons of the show and had to read the romance novel the show’s character wrote!
I liked The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. It may have been the timing, but I thought it was great!
I loved That book too!!
I enjoyed Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris!
May favorite book I read was Be The Gift by Ann VosKamp. 🙂
I think my favorite book this year was wonder
My favorite books I read in 2017 was The Return To Hickory Hollow series by Beverly Lewis.
Of Mess and Moxie made my list too! Pick up “Sisters First” by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Bush – I think you’d enjoy it! It’s a quick read but so charming!
I re-read “The Forgotten Garden” by Kate Morton this past year; that was my initial gateway book to the rest of her books, all of which are some of my favorites of all time. Her writing and storytelling are like nothing else.
I read 74 books in 2017 and loved most of them. My favorite series was the Longmire books by Craig Johnson.
The Miracle Morning was a fantastic book for me this year.
I haven’t read any of these, and I love getting recommendations! My favorite non-fiction this year was “Unseen” by Sara Hagerty. My favorite fiction was “The Undoing of Saint Silvanus” though I did not read much fiction this year, I raced through this one!
A million little ways and night watch. For my sick day today I’m going to start Relentless Spirit by missy Franklin.
I read The Hate U Give and would recommend it. Would love to win a pile of books, I can totally relate about reading giving life!
This is a great list! I think my favorite book I read in 2017 would be Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist.
It really made me think back on my friendships and why kind of friend I want to continue being.
I would love to win these books!
This is such a great list of such diverse books! Thank you for compiling and sharing!
I’m a sucker for YA fiction and I loved reading A Ember In The Ashes. So good!
I would love to win. My fave book this year that I re-read would be harry potter. it was fun because i read it with my son!
Great list!
I love these suggestions. Thanks so much.
Not sure what my favourite read would be his year I was in a reading funk and didn’t read much but my goal this year is 62
Omg! Love this list! And I read Castle of Water right after you started reading it! Also, one of my fav books of 2017! I totally agree that more people should be talking about and reading it! Probably going to pick it for my book club month. I can’t believe it only has a few Amazon and Good Reads reviews! Love it
Little Fires Everywhere was my favorite book of the year.
Small Great Things definitely topped my list this year!
Wow! What a great list!! Can’t wait to start reading these.
I loved We’re Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union. She is so funny and real!
I always enjoy reading your posts and getting your insights on good books to read. I have two littles and set a reading goal of 24 for 2017, and I ended up finishing 47 books…which I didn’t dream possible. It also is “therapy” for my soul and a passion I am not going to let get put on the back burner again. Thanks for your fun posts! Cheers to 2018 reading ventures!
I love your list! My favorite book was The Nightingale.
Long time lurker- never commented before! I love your book posts. Books at the top of my list this year are Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead and Catherine Marshall’s Christy (which I had been trying to find a copy of for years!). Favorite re-reads include When Breath becomes Air (Paul Kalanithi) and the Midwife series by Jennifer Worth ( memoirs of working as a young nurse in the East End of London in the 1950s).
My favorite book of 2017 was Orthodoxy by Chesterton.
My favorite book I read in 2017 was The Broken Way By Ann Voskamp.
Read a couple of these, the rest are added to my goodreads. 50 is my goal this year!
My favorite book I read this year is All the Light We Cannot See. 🙂 I also loved Secrets of a Charmed Life and the audio version of A Man Called Ove.
My favorite book I read in 2017 was The Dyslexic Empowerment Plan by Ben Foss. I think your list is interesting would love to win!
I am adding several of these to my 2018 reading list and am excited to find your Instagram book page, too!
I’m so excited about this list! I love getting book recommendations from book lovers! Thank you for putting this together!
Love your book posts every month and have many of these in my Amazon Cart. My favorite book read in 2017 was The Kitchen House
I’ve set a goal to read 22 books in 2018. Hoping to prioritize reading this year!
How exciting! My favorite read this year was A Man Called Ove!
One of my favorites the year was The Orphan Keeper.
_The Hate U Give_ by Angie Thomas was a favorite this year for me. Thanks for the opportunity!
I’ve heard of a few on this list, and I’m dying to read This Is How It Always Is! I reread The Handmaid’ s Tale this year and really enjoyed that. I also liked Jen Hatmaker’s two newest books. I feel like, other than that I can hardly remember what else I’ve read. I have no idea what my count is! This year’s goal is to keep a record of all books read this year!
I really enjoyed “The Touch” by Randall Wallace
I also enjoyed reading “Small Great Things!”
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate…I still think about this book from time to time…
My favorite was “Sing, Unburied,Sing” and “Dreamland Burning “
I forgot to add “At Home in the World” to my first response! Loved that read!
Killing Kennedy and Killing Reagan were my favorite reads this year! Thanks for doing the giveaway!
Great list… I haven’t read any of them. My favorite for 2017 was lilac girls…such a conpelling story!
I also read Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and thought it was very good. Can’t wait to read more from this list. Thanks Jessica!
My two favorites for 2017 were The Passage by Justin Cronin and All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood. The Passage sucked me in with the story but was perhaps not the most well written book. All the Ugly and Wonderful Things was like a train wreck I couldn’t stop watching. I read it early in 2017 and I still think about it, which is high praise with two kids, a busy job, and life.
I liked Sleeping Beauties- Stephen King and Owen King. Thanks for the giveaway!
I loved so many this year! Top of the list were “The nightingale” and “The Silver Musicbox” .
I can’t wait to check out the ones on your list. I love Historical fiction.
One of my faves from the year was Church of the Small Things by Melanie Shankle.
My favorite book was Small Great Things, but I also loved Trevor Noah’s book. I haven’t read any of the others but LOVE to read. Thanks for sharing your favorites!
“What was your favorite book you read in 2017?” I enjoyed “Uzumaki” by Junji Ito. It’s a very scary and original Japanese horror graphic novel!
2017 was a great year for reading! My favorite book was probably either 7 Great Men or 7 Great Women by Eric Metaxas.
I did not get too many books this year, but I really liked “Never Unfriended” by Lisa Jo Baker.
My favorite books were Nightingale, Beneath a Scarlet Sky and Bear Town. I also enjoyed the Sound of Gravel, so captivating and a little scary to see how they lived
I’ve been reading To Kill a Mockingbird (never read it in HS!) and I love it!
Finishing Of Mess and Moxie right now!
I read The Giver with my 13 year old daughter this year. That was my favorite reading experience!
Wow–so many good sounding books in your top ten–I would love to win!
I love your list and have read most one I would add is The Hate U Give a must read
Home going – an unexpected favorite as it is not my usual genre.
My favorite book of 2017 was Only Love Today by Rachel Macy Stafford!!
I liked “The Taster,” about WWII.
I read a lot of really great books this past year. One of my favorites is Before We Were Yours. The Audible version is excellent.
I read 40 books this year. My favorite was The Secret Life of Violet Grant. Thank you for the giveaway.
It was a busy year so I haven’t read as many books as I would of liked to. My favorite was Uninvited by Lysa TerKeurst.
Thanks to you, I rediscovered the joy of reading last year and joined The Book of the Month Club. I really enjoy your book recommendations too. Please keep them coming.
My favorite book from last year was “Gentleman in Moscow.”
I love this list. I have read a few of the books on this list already and they were some of my favorites too. I’m putting many of the others on hold right now! Thanks. I would LOVE to win.
P. S. My favorite of last year was The Sound of Gravel and The Glass Castle.
So many! The MG novel Refugee by Alan Gratz that everyone should read. I also loved the first two in a new series, A Murder in Time and A Twist in Time. Also very wonderful.
-Lauren
I always enjoy reading your book lists and you have inspired me to read more this year.
Love this list!! Keeping all of them on my amazing list!!
I didn’t read enough last year! Nothing that I read really stuck out either, how sad!
I’m a little late to the party, but my favorite book this year was A Man Called Ove.
LOVED With Love From the Inside! It made me cry.
(Not sure if I already commented.) ♀️
I love to read and it is always hard to pick a favourite. I think though the hate u give has stuck with me the longest
“You Don’t Look Like Anyone I Know” was a book I read last year that I still think about. A true story about a woman who grew up with messed up parents. She found out when she was an adult that she can not recognize people by their faces. I never knew such a thing existed. It’s a hard read but fascinating slso
The Gentleman from Moscow
My favorite book I read in 2017 was Unbroken. Such an amazing story!
How to get a grip by Matthew kimberly was my favorite no BS self help book I read in 2017.
I think I read Of Mess and Moxie in 2 days… so fun, relatable and encouraging!
Wonder was one of my fav books that I read and shared this year.
Several that were already on my TBR are on this list, so I’ll have to move them up! I also added a couple more. My favorite read of 2017 was Station Eleven! Totally outside of my normal genres, but I loved it.
I just got back into reading (fiction) in 2017 and really only read 2 books. But my goal for 2018 is to read at least 1 a month, so I’m super happy you wrote this post! If I won this it would provide me with books for almost the whole year! Out of the whole 2 I read (lol) I think the Glass House was probably my favorite. But I’ve been enjoying reading some older fiction books by Grace Livingston Hill. They are usually free on Amazon and actually really good!
These look like some excellent choices to begin reading in the new year! Thanks for the recommendations!
My favorite book was The Witness by Sandra Brown!
Favorite is too hard to chose, but a good one I finished recently was “Caroline” the reimagined story of Ma from the Little House on the Prairie. Really good if you remember and enjoyed the originals.
Thanks for the great recommendations!
The finale of the Mr Mercedes Killer Trilogy ‘End of Watch’ by Stephen King.
My favorite book of 2017 was The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama.
I loved Trevor Noah’s book, Born A Crime. Sounds like I will have to listen the the audio book though! I love your list! It gives me a list of what to read…I also read Small Great Things so I always feel like I will enjoy what you recommend! Thanks for sharing your list!!
I’ve only read one of these, but now I’d like to read them all!
I didn’t read nearly as much in 2017 as I wanted to but my favorite book was Breaking Free by Beth Moore. Thank you for sharing your reading list! I do plan on reading some of those. And I do plan on letting some of the housework go so I can find more time to read, too – great idea!
I love to read but often don’t find the time to do it. One of my goals this year is to make more time for reading. Some of these titles are on my TBR list and can’t wait to look into the other titles. Thank you for sharing your list!
2017 was a year of reading through a collection of books I have not had time to get to and rereading books I have read. My favorite from 2017 was a reread from a children’s literature class I took in college: Bridge to Terabithia.
I am doing a lot of reading my shelves this year. So many good books I have curated and then not read.