I thought about it a lot, and here are my top 10 favorite reads of 2017! (Not all of them were published in 2017, although a surprising amount were.) Nine of these were five-star reads; #10 on the list was a high four-star. I would highly, highly recommend all of these; these were the books that stuck with me the most throughout the year, and the ones that I’ll want to read again in the future.

10. Borne by Jeff Vandermeer – Vandermeer’s Southern Reach trilogy made my favorites list a few years back, as it was so wonderfully weird and well-written. This standalone book was fantastic–so imaginative and strange, yet with powerful emotional resonance and a main character you wanted to root for.

9. Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit – this was one of my first reads of 2017, and it had a huge impact. I also read it around the time of the Women’s March on Washington, which cemented it in my memory and made me want to go on to read more feminist works during the year.

8. The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin – I finally finished the Broken Earth trilogy in 2017, and every book from that trilogy made a yearly favorites list. It’s fantasy at its most creative and well-fleshed-out, yet never lacking in emotion.

7. Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado – this lyrical magical realism short story collection also packs a lot of punches in its discussion of how women are treated.

6. Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin – this extremely weird short novel reads like an actual fever dream, and that’s why I loved it.

5. Difficult Women by Roxane Gay – this short story collection included realistic fiction as well as magical realism, and basically just demonstrated how amazing Roxane Gay is at everything.

4. The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente – such a cool and creative take on female comic book characters; this book was biting and impactful and fantastic.

3. Bloodchild by Octavia Butler – this short story collection contained one of my new favorite novellas (the title story) and also included two fantastic essays. I love everything I’ve read by Butler, and this was another great step towards reading all of her published works.

2. Among Others by Jo Walton – the book I didn’t know I needed about the power of reading and books. There’s also magic, done in a beautiful way.

1. Hunger by Roxane Gay – the most powerful book I’ve read this year. I think I’ve recommended this to approximately one million people, and the ones who’ve read it have all also loved it.

 

What were your favorite reads of the year? Have you read any of these? Let me know in the comments!