27 January 2018

Books of 2017



  1. Goldfinch, Donna Tartt, fiction drama, audiobook, Las Vegas and New York City ***
  2. No mark upon her, Deborah Crombie, mystery, ebook uk. ****
  3. The advantage, business, short book, Patrick Lencioni ***
  4. Sidney Chambers and the shadow of death, the granchester mysteries, james runcie, UK post WW II, ***.5
  5. Strangers on a train, Patricia Highsmith, New York and Texas, 1950, mystery fiction, ***.5 ebook
  6. The Keeper of Lost Causes, Jussi Adler-Olsen, Denmark, Mystery, audiobook, **** (book 1 of series, Realized I’d read a later one and kept thinking I’d read this book, or maybe I had. Hate re-reading unintentionally, especially when I bought it!) good read, but dark. 
  7. The Devil in the White City, Chicago’s world fair, Eric Laarsen?, 1893. Nonfiction, audio book. What a strange and interesting time. ***.5
  8. Leading out of who you are. Simon P Walker, nonfiction leadership. ****
  9. Whoever fights monsters, by Robert Ressler, nonfiction FBI developing profiling for serial murders, grissly but interesting in short doses, audiobook. ***
  10. In the woods, Dublin murder squad, modern fiction, very good, writing great but one character's bad choices will probably keep me from reading more in the series. ****
  11. Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus. Nabeel quereshi, nonfiction, ebook excellent
  12. The Last Child, John hart, fiction modern day south USA, exceptional writing. Ebook. *****
  13. A tapping at my door, by David Jackson, U.K. Modern day, detectives, ****ebook
  14. Snare of the hunter, by Helen Macinnes, ebook, 1960s, ***.5 Cold War escape Czechoslovakia to Austria. Sort of a spy Agatha Christie type book.
  15. May we be forgiven, a novel, A.M. Holmes, modern fiction NY City suburbs mostly. *** minus the vulgar scenes, I would have said 4 stars. Ebook
  16. Walking on Water: Faith and Art, Madeline L'Engle, nonfiction ***** ebook
  17. Mr. Churchill's secretary, Susan Elia MacNeal, U.K. WW II. *** audio 
  18. The girl who was supposed to die, by April Henry, Boston mystery fiction, audio, ****
  19. Live to tell, by Lisa Gardener, detective fiction, audio. ***
  20. The Girl you Lost, by Katheryn Kroft, **** mystery fiction, audio
  21. The laws of teamwork , by John Macwell, Nonfiction , ***, gift, paperbook!
  22. The Rabbi Slept Late, by Harry Kemelman, written 1960s, New England fiction, ebook. ****
  23. Get well soon, Jennifer Wright, nonfiction plagues. Very interesting. Audiobook . ****
  24. Today will be Different , Marie Semple, fiction Seattle, audiobook, ****
  25. The Crossing Places, Ely Griffiths, Norfolk U.K., modern mystery, ***.5, more but one area seemed strangely presented or not researched clearly. 
  26. The House of Spies, Daniel Silva, modern spy novel, France, Israel, london, morocco.****
  27. Movie Storyboards: the art of visualizing screenplays, by Fionnuala Halligan , library ebook, nonfiction. 
  28. Single White Female, John Stutz, 1980s NYC. *** fiction ebook
  29. The Mushroom Hunters, on the trail of an underground America, Langdon Cook, Nonfiction, strange and interesting. audiobook. ****
  30. An Army Arising, why artists are on the front line of the next move of God, Crist John Otto nonfiction, paper book, a gift I enjoyed **** nonfiction 
  31. The life of the beloved, spiritual living in a secular world, Henry Nouwen, nonfiction, ebook ****
  32. Redemption Road, John Hart, North Carolina, fiction, audiobook, ****
  33. Are you Sleeping, contemporary mystery, Chicago, Kathleen Barber, ebook ***
  34. Dorothy L. sayers, A Careless Rage for Life, biography, audiobook. ***** 
  35. So Happiness to meet you, Karin Esterhammer, nonfiction, travelogue, library ebook, ***.5
  36. My Italian bulldozer, Alexander McCall Smith, Scotland and Italy, fiction audiobook. **** light and entertaining 
  37. Stay the course, choco de Jesus, paperback gift, skeptical start but I loved his attitude to sharing faith. ****
  38. The way of the thorn, David Trementozzi, spiritual allegory, paperbook, gift. 
  39. The Happiness Effect, How social media is driving a generation to appear perfect at any cost, Donna Freitas, nonfiction; report of a study/survey, paperback, gift. Very Interesting perspective on our times.
  40. The Silkworm, Robert Galbraith, , London, mystery audiobook, library, ***.5
  41. Death and the Lit Chick, G M Malliet, Edinburgh, present day, fiction ebook, ****
For me 3.5 stars is a book that was fine. I likely won't rave about it or chat about it but it was a good read. A lot of nonfiction gifts and I read more nonfiction than normal. I have trouble rating those books. Either they were useful or interesting or they weren't.

2 comments:

  1. In reading through this I started to wonder what makes a four- or five-star book for you.

    What is different between a three-star book and a four- or five-star book?

    I've read (or more, listened to) a lot of historical non-fiction over the last year, and I agree that it's hard to rank that. To me, one of the most important things about a non-fiction book is whether it is accurate, but how would I know? :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I find my ratings terribly subjective. 3 was okay, fine, maybe I was distracted by the writer at times. Maybe it felt like another book or plot and not so distinctive. 4 stars I was in the story and engaged. I could recommend it depending on who I’m talking to. I’ve started giving more generous 4s. Five stars either inspired me (nonfiction) or I’d love to have discussion with someone. I might even read it again, though that rarely happens. I keep checking on movies that are “based on a true story” due to that feeling of accuracy you describe!

    ReplyDelete