10 Best Reads of 2017

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Was it a good reading year? Yep. I read what I could, so I read enough. And I read what I felt would give me joy.

And, I got in my goal of reading 60 books a year. Sure, a couple were short picture books, but they were lovely.

A few more stats for this reading year:
  • Total books read: 60
  • 80% of the authors of the books I read, as far as I know, are women.
  • 9 or 15% of the books I read were written by Filipino authors.
  • 28 or roughly 47% of the books I read were published in 2017; 9 or 15% have yet to be published in 2018.
  • 34 or roughly 57% of the books I read were published by Penguin Random House publishers or clients
And here are my best reads for 2017, organized according to when they were/are to be published:
  1. Love Irresistibly by Julie James - I only started reading Julie James this year, because I heard she was popular in my region. I see why. I've read a couple, but this one about a prosecutor and a hotshot corporate counsel who unwittingly fall in love was especially sweet and satisfying.
  2. Lumberjanes, Vol. 2: Friendship to the Max by Noelle Stevenson - I loved Nimona, and what I see from Lumberjanes's second volume is not just how kickass the girls are, but how kind they are to each other. It's a fantastic message to girls everywhere. 
  3. Sagala by Tori Tadiar - I read the first volume of Sagala in Komiks Cum Laude, the anthology published by Komiket. And this story of a gunslinger girl and her corporal brother protecting engkantos in alternate history Philippines is fantastic, and I would really love to see more of it.
  4. Windwitch by Susan Dennard - In the second book of the Truthwitch series, you see a development of what you think are more of secondary characters. And I like really great secondary characters. The ones with potential to be more lovable than the main ones.
  5. The Fifth Season, The Obelisk Gate, The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin - This series, hands down, is the BEST fantasy series I've read in a long, long, long time. In every book, N.K. Jemisin blew my mind. It's hard to explain much without giving away any spoilers, but it is unflinching and unexpected and beautiful.
  6. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng - This story about two families, one artsy and poor and another rich and Stepford-like is gripping read. And because it's easy to love or hate some characters, you get very caught up in the story. I was also predicting this is a good gateway book for people who are exploring adult titles from YA. I still think I'm right. :P 
  7. All We Can Do Is Wait by Richard Lawson - This is the first book in my list that's yet to be published. Five teenagers find themselves in waiting for word about their loved ones who were victims in a bridge collapse in their city. I wish this one got as much buzz as some of the other books I know. It is fantastic. 
  8. Hero At The Fall by Alwyn Hamilton - This last book in the Rebel of the Sands series is also coming out in 2018. I am blown away by this series. I cannot stress enough how Alwyn Hamilton has masterfully crafted her world that so many things happened that I did not expect at all. If you're looking for kick-ass gunslinger girl who's half-djinn, excellent character development of both main and secondary characters, and an ode to the power of stories, PLEASE pick up this series. 
  9. A Guide For Murdered Children by Sarah Sparrow - Also coming out in 2018. Sarah Sparrow is a pen name. This is a story of murdered children who take over bodies of adults who've died, live as these adults while trying to find the ones who've murdered them. It's fascinating. And yes, that's a Comic Sans on the cover. Because it mimics something in the book. 
  10. The Good Son by You-Jeong Jeong - Coming out July 2018. By "the Stephen King of Korea." Who happens to be a woman. This is not a horror book. It is an excellent psychological thriller where a man wakes up and discovers that his mother has been murdered. I see why You-Jeong Jeong was called Queen of Crime when she was translated in Germany. She is masterful at creating the unreliable narrator. And the twist is mind-blowing.
And that's it for my 2017 reading year. Now, excuse me as I try to get ahead with my 2018 reading.

Isn't it wonderful that, whatever happens, you can always bury your nose in a book? Happy New Year, everyone!  

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