Laurie R. King Virtual Book Club discussion

Goodreads Choice Awards opening round started this week! So I think it's officially that time of year when all of the "best of" discussions start up.

What was the best book you read this year? Was it published this year?

I read so much that it's hard for me to pick just one, but a favorite was Anthony Horowitz's "Magpie Murders." Non-fiction-wise, I was amazed by "The Radium Girls," although it's a book that makes one both angry and sad.
I have to do some more thinking to see if I can come up with more potential "best books"!

I usually use the "best of" lists to create my reading lists, so I'm always a year behind. Here are some of my favorites from this year, but I don't think any are from 2017.

Evicted, Matthew Desmond.
Today will be Better, Maria Semple
Nutshell, Ian McEwan
Born a Crime, Trevor Noah
The Pursuit of Power, Richard Evans
Last Days of New Paris, China Mieville

Despite what others may say, I loved Today will be Better by Maria Semple, too. It wasn't a mystery, but the story keeps coming back to me, the sign (to me) of a really good book.

I think the best book I read this year was The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin. I often have a hard time with more hard-core fantasy, but her writing just completely drew me in. I can totally see why she's won so many awards for this trilogy.

Second favorite is probably A Man Called Ove. Which I wasn't all that interested in at first, but since we were reading it as a discussion pick and John recommended it, I gave it a go and ended up really loving it.

But there's like 8 weeks left in the year and some much anticipated books just came out (La Belle Sauvage!) So we'll see.

I think the best book I read this year was The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin.
I read her Inheritance Trilogy and loved it. I thought her writing was terrific and the whole premise fascinating.

I really liked The City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong and its sequel. It kept me at the edge of my seat most of the time, and I think the author's previous fantasy writing helped keep it very suspenseful. Can't wait for the next book to come out in the spring.

Another favorite was Glass Houses by Louise Penny. Every word she writes is so well chosen, and again the suspense builds in amazing ways. The only disappointment is that I need to wait another year for her next book.

KarenB wrote: "I think the best book I read this year was The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin.
I read her Inheritance Trilogy and loved it. I thought her writing was terrific and the whole premise fascinating."
I'm working on the second one now. I like it, but have the same issue that I often have with fantasy, that I'm not quite sure what's going on.

Emily wrote: "I like it, but have the same issue that I often have with fantasy, that I'm not quite sure what's going on. ."

That's often my issue too. The plots are often so non-linear that they don't really get around to telling you what's going on until nearly the end of the book.

I'm finding that I like these longer fantasy books better on audio. At least for the first couple of books.

Favorites this year:
Good Morning, Midnight
Star's End
A Closed and Common Orbit
Raven Stratagem

In the world of mysteries I've been enjoying the Phryne Fisher series, though they are a bit of a mixed bag, and some Sherlock Holmes non-fiction including From Holmes to Sherlock: The Story of the Men and Women Who Created an Icon (highly recommended) and The Science of Sherlock Holmes: From Baskerville Hall to the Valley of Fear, the Real Forensics Behind the Great Detective's Greatest Cases.

I don't ever seem to be able to pick just one favorite. I will be doing a favorite reads of 2017 post for my blog towards the end of December, and I will come back here to add a link then.

Adding to my "best of 2017" list: I've been listening to the audio of His Dark Materials trilogy from Philip Pullman in preparation for his latest book, which continues in the same world. The audio is great fun! Read by the author with a full cast for the dialogue!

Erin wrote: "Adding to my "best of 2017" list: I've been listening to the audio of His Dark Materials trilogy from Philip Pullman in preparation for his latest book, which continues in the same wo..."

Erin, have you read Pullman's Sally Lockhart series? It is such a favorite of mine!

I haven't! I haven't read any of his other books, actually. They never seemed to be available when I looked. I'll have to check again!

Since I borrow most of my books from the library (print, ebooks and audio), I very rarely read books in the year they were printed. Here are my favorite reads for 2017 even though most were not printed in that year.

Of course, I must start with one of Laurie King's newest. I was fortunate enough to receive a gratis copy of Lockdown. The book begins in an unusual format. Characters are introduced and the scene set with short (sometimes a page or less) segments. I'm sure some will not like this, but I think it is an effective tool. As I read through the segments, it seemed like short visual scenes rapidly occurring to set the stage for what we think is coming.

Another book that touched me deeply was A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline One of the reasons I like historical fiction is that it brings history to life, and usually I learn something about an era, a person or a place. This book does all three in abundance.

Most of the books I read are history, historical fiction, and mystery/crime; so I'll add another fun read and good mystery from one of my favorite authors. The Chili Queen by Sandra Dallas Dallas writes about a wide variety of women--mostly from a historical perspective. I haven't read a book by Dallas that I didn't really enjoy.