My list of 2017 books isn't long enough. My goal was 75. So I fell short. Also need to read more books in translation. Need more diversity, too...so noted. This year, full steam ahead! Also this list doesn't include literary magazines, or New Yorkers and Poets & Writers. Or manuscripts I read for friends. Or newspapers I read on my iPad. Or books I borrowed from friends and forgot to add. Never mind. There are plenty of gems here.
- Alexie, Sherman Best American Poetry 2015. Always good to start the day with poetry.
- Atkins, Ace The Ranger. Novel. Crime novel set in Mississippi.
- Brookner, Anita Look at Me. Novel. Decided to revisit Brookner, a favorite from college days.
- Brown, Brene Rising Strong. Nonfiction, self-help, inspiring.
- Browne, Renni & King, David. Self-editing for Fiction Writers Writing craft, with pragmatic tips on revising.
- Cash, Wiley The Last Ballad. Novel, and a pleasure to finally read fiction about this time and place in history.
- Child, Lee Persuader. Novel, because I hadn't yet read Lee Child and everyone else has.
- Culliton, Emily The Misfortune of Marion Palm. Compelling novel.
- Cusk, Rachel Outline. Novel Both of Cusk's stellar novels are absorbing. The effaced narrator is intriguing.
- Cusk, Rachel Transit. Novel. See above. Even if you don't prefer "stylists", these novels are must-reads.
- Dee, Jonathan The Locals. Novel about a small town, with a good mix of working class & 1%.
- Desmond, Matthew Evicted. Nonfiction. A standout. Won the Pulitzer.
- Dunn, Sarah The Arrangement. Novel. Comic novel about marriage. Enjoyed every page.
- Egan, Jennifer A Visit from the Goon Squad. Novel. Why did I not read this before? Brilliant. Will read again. And again.
- Evans, Harold Do I Make Myself Clear? Nonfiction about editing and defuzzing your prose.
- Faulkner, William The Sound and The Fury. Novel, reread again. Beautiful, beautiful.
- Fennelly, Beth Ann Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro-memoirs. Microfiction. Superb, witty and moving.
- Ferris, Joshua The Dinner Party. Short fiction. This guy gets women.
- Hardwick, Elizabeth Sleepless Nights. Novel. Another standout. Another, 'what took me so long to read this?' Hardwick's classic novel is a precursor to Rachel Cusk's Outline and Transit. Both use effaced narrators as a camera to view the world, not themselves, and the reader is there with them, every step, every word. Plus Hardwick's lyrical prose is gorgeous.
- Hawley, Noah Before the Fall. Novel. Thriller. Janet Malcolm gave a thumbs up, so I gave it a whirl.
- Hill, Nathan The Nix. Novel. Ambitious in scope.
- Hustvedt, Siri A Woman Looking at Men Looking at Women: Essays. Nonfiction. I liked the neuroscience and philosophy discussion.
- Jahren, Hope Lab Girl. Memoir. Enlightening. I learned a lot about the career of a scientist. Also that the glass ceiling in the science world is still infuriatingly thick.
- Jamison, Leslie The Empathy Exams. Nonfiction.
- Lange, Richard The Smack. Novel.
- Lipman, Elinor On Turpentine Lane. Novel. If there's a house and real estate in the plot, I'm there.
- Lively, Penelope Tiger Moon. Novel. After reading an interesting profile of Lively in the NYT, I read this one. Glad.
- Miller, Mary Last Days of California. Novel. Literary.
- Morgan, Robert Chasing the North Star. Novel. About the Underground Railroad.
- Moriarty, Liane Big Little Lies. Novel. Read before HBO's show. Entertaining.
- Moshhegh, Ottessa Eileen. Novel. Creepy in a good way. First person narrator is...compelling.
- Patchett, Ann Commonwealth. Novel. Loved this one almost as much as Bel Canto.
- Patchett, Ann State of Wonder. Novel. The Amazon chapters made me itch. Lots of bugs. Transporting.
- Percy, Benjamin Thrill Me: Essays on Fiction. Nonfiction. Another craft book on writing, nicely done.
- Perrotta, Tom Mrs. Fletcher. Novel. I will read anything Perrotta writes. Love his comic, satirical scenes of 'burbs.
- Pinborough, Sarah Behind Her Eyes. Novel. Because you need to add some some thrillers in the mix.
- Pollack, Eilleen A Perfect Life. Novel. Another scientist.
- Russo, Richard Trajectory. Short fiction. I will also read anything Russo writes.
- Scofield, Sandra The Last Draft. Nonfiction. Another excellent craft book.
- Smith, Laura Lee The Ice House. Love the humor. Will have more to say about this novel in my next author Q&A with Laura.
- Straub, Emma The Vacationers. Novel.
- Strout, Elizabeth Anything is Possible. Novel. Strout's eery, artful ability to slip into her characters' skins on display here.
- Tarkington, Ed Only Love Can Break Your Heart. Novel. At a conference, had the chance to hear Ed read from his suspensful novel.
- Whitehead, Colson The Underground Railroad. Novel. The magical realism made the horror of slavery, and the attempts to escape it, even more poignant. Not many writers could pull this off.
- Willett, Jincy Amy Falls Down. Novel.
- Wolas, Cherise The Resurrection of Joan Ashby. Novel with a feminist bent. The first half, that is.
- Wright, Kim Last Ride to Graceland. Novel. Read my Q&A with Kim for more information on this southern novel.