My Favorite Books of 2017 List

It is not yet New Years Eve but I am not going to finish either the book on my kindle app nor the book I am listening to in the next 48 hours so I am going to go ahead this this annual post.  In 2017 I either read or listened to a total of 44 books.  I enjoyed almost all of them.  So choosing my top ten list this year was impossible.  After the books I read by J.K. Rowling and Herman Wouk I would have only one book left to pick!   So it became apparent that I would choose the top ten author's of the books I read this year.  It was fairly easy to pick the first nine authors.  But then there were three books I still liked a lot that I had to choose between for that tenth spot.  Therefore I have changed my top ten books this year to my top twelve authors.  Know that books 10, 11, and 12 were pretty much a tie.  If you click on each title as it appears in the list you will go to the page where I reviewed the book.   I was surprised at how many non-fiction books that I read this year and that a fantasy book was at my number one spot.  My genre is normally historical fiction and there are a few of those on the list too.  

12.  Lyall Watson   

               The Whole Hog

11.  Erik Larson

              Dead Wake 

10.  Michael Pollan

              The Botany Of Desire

9.   Marilyn Yalom

              The History Of The Wife 

8.   Dava Sobel 

               Galileo's Daughter

               The Glass Universe

7.  Thomas Mullen

               The Last Town On Earth

6.  Rachel Carson

                Silent Spring

5. Sheri S. Tepper

                The Gate To Women's Country

4.  Barbara Kingsolver

                 The Lacuna

3.  Jodi Picoult 

                Small Great Things

2.  Herman Wouk

                The Winds Of War

                 War and Remembrance

1.  J. K. Rowling

               Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

               Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

               Harry Potter and the Prisoner Of Azkaban

               Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire

               Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix

               Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

               Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The Girl Who Drank The Moon by Kelly Barnhill

The Girl Who Drank The Moon

by

Kelly Barnhill

This young adult novel is about a town that is held hostage to a witch who demands that they offer a sacrificial infant to the woods on a regular basis to keep the rest of the town safe.  As the story unfolds it becomes clear the town is mistaken and later in the story the story evolves to reveal that the establishment is the villain not the lady that lives in the woods.  The book has a good theme for thought for young adults to encourage them to think for themselves and not merely go along with the establishment.  But over all it is not a book that will make my top ten list for the year.  I am not sure why I did not get into the book as the story had a basis that promised to be a very good story.  In selecting to read it I really liked the description.  I know that young adult reading can be easier reading than some of the more complicated adult novels.  But this seemed over simplified as far as writing style for even young adults.  I think even a elementary reader would not be challenged by the reading level of this novel.   I believe young adults today are sharper than this but maybe I over estimate.  At any rate Kelly Barnhill has a wonderful basis for a story but she is no J.K. Rowling.  Please click on the book title and author's name above to follow links to more information.  And enjoy the video that follows.  Most important don't let my review discourage you from reading this book.  It isn't a bad book and it won a couple of coveted awards.  It was merely not my favorite type of reading.  

 

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Silent Spring

by

Rachel Carson

This is a book that I had meant to read for a long time and I finally checked it out from the library on my kindle app.  It is considered a classic.  This non fiction book is credited with starting the environmental  movement.  It addresses the use of chemical sprays that was so prevelent when I was a child.  Much of what she describes I remember.  I remember the dead birds and squirrels in the back yard.  I remember going camping with my family near Lake Erie and when we went to the beach to swim we couldn't because of all the dead fish floating in the water and lining the beach.  I remember their milky eyes.  I wish the people younger than me would all read this book so they would understand how things were.  And I wish the people my age and older would read it so they would remember.  I worry we will go back to some of these problems with the current climate of opinion of so many this country.  The author did end the book on a positive note.  She talked of the successes of biological pest control as an alternative to chemical sprays.  She was not opposed to careful use of chemicals in localized areas.  Her book was about being more thoughtful about the use of chemicals in our environment and not about not using them at all.  If not a reader, or if interested in more information,  PBS did a wonderful documentary about Rachel Carson and it can be viewed HERE.  When I was living in SW Lower Michigan I had the opportunity to tour a lab that was working with using some type of beetle to control another insect on the crops.  I don't think the government has the lab at Niles any more as I could not find it online.  But the USDA-APHIS still exists.  If a  young person is interested in doing this sort of work an opportunity can be learned about HERE.   Please click on the title of the book, the author's name and the links found in the body of this post for more information.  And enjoy the video that follows.

The Last Town On Earth by Thomas Mullen

The Last Town On Earth

by

Thomas Mullen

In October of 1918 the Spanish Influenza epidemic killed many people and frightened the remainder of the population.  The Last Town On Earth explores the idea of  reverse isolation and is set in a town that decides to cut itself off from the rest of the country and try to prevent the flu from getting into their town.  The audio production of this book was excellent.  Henry Strozier was the narrator and he did a wonderful job.  I have listened to other books narrated by him and he did a great job with them too.  I chose this book because of the project I am working on about WWI who served in various capacities from the county where I grew up.  The short biographies I have completed can be found HERE.  In the future,  two of the women I will be writing about were sent to bases to help care for enlisted men who were victims of the flu.  I wanted to read/listen to this book to obtain a feeling for the era.  The Last Town On Earth by Thomas Mullen is an historical novel and therefore a work of fiction.  Nevertheless, from what I have read so far about the symptoms of Spanish Influenza, and the way it seemed to strike young adults more than the very young and elderly,  which is the way typical flu hits,  are described by Mullen spot on.   He also addresses other issues of the era such as the formation of unions along with the violence which accompanied the workers trying to organize.  Mullen's treatment of anti war sentiment along side patriotism is interesting.  He describes the horrifying treatment of conscientious objectors in Army camps.  This novel is not a "rah, rah, rah" of patriotism as it addresses some difficult views and opinions.  I really liked it but some readers may come away offended.  It was new information for me to read about the 4 Minute Men who jumped up to the front at the end of movies and provided positive propaganda about the war because there was so much anti war sentiment at the time.  We always think of anti war people during Vietnam but WWI was also unpopular in some groups.  More about the 4 Minute Men can be found HERE.   And I did not realize the term gold star came to refer to the soldiers that were killed overseas because of the fact that people displayed flags in their windows when their family member was overseas serving in the military and when there was a death the flag was changed to one with a gold star.   More information about the flags, stars and the significance can be found HERE.   I really liked this book.  I think it provided me with an excellent picture of life during 1918 in the United States.  In addition I enjoyed the novel.  Please click on the book title and the author's name above,  along with the other indicated areas in the post,  to follow links to more information.  And enjoy the interview with the author that follows in the video.  

The Botany Of Desire by Michael Pollan

The Botany Of Desire

by

Michael Pollan

Michael Pollan is one of my go to author's.  I also enjoy his documentaries.  I was first introduced to him in the film "Food Inc"  and then later read The Omnivore's Dilemma.  Last night I finished reading his book The Botany Of Desire.   It is a delightful non fiction book about how plants evolve and benefit from our agendas.    He begins with the story of the apple and Johnny Appleseed and expounds upon fruits overall.  Next he talks about the tulip and the roles of flowers and beauty in our lives.  This is followed by medicinal plants with an emphasis on the ones that alter our consciousness and their role in pain control, memory and behavior and then zeros in on cannabis.  The author concludes with a discussion of the potato during which he includes the current practice of altering the genes of plants to provide an innate insecticide from insects.  Michael Pollen's writing is clear and his books are easy to read.  Some of his works have been made into documentaries.  The Botany of Desire is one of his books that PBS made a documentary out of.  Please see the video below to preview that documentary.  Also,  by clicking on the author's name and book title and the beginning of this post you will be redirected to pages with more information.  

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter

and the Deathly Hallows

by

J.K. Rowling

   I finished the seventh and last book in the Harry Potter series at 5:30 this morning.  I stayed up all night finishing it.  I did not want to stop and once I was finished with the book I was disappointed that  I had completed the series.  I do not want to be finished with them.  But I  plan on watching all the movies so will continue to enjoy the world of Harry Potter for awhile yet.  And there is a web site that is called Pottermore that if you click on the book title above you will go to a web page, which is the part of the Pottermore site, which is about Hogwarts School, which is the boarding school Harry Potter and his friends attended during the series.   Also,  at the end of this blog is a video about a castle in UK that is a resort based on the series.  Kids can go there for three days and have a mystery weekend in the recreated Hogwarts school.   There is also a Harry Potter exhibit at Universal Studios in Florida and another one in Hollywood.  It is my understanding there is also a site to visit in London.  I am sure there are other Harry Potter activities to participate in.  My kids were born a little too soon to be in the Harry Potter craze but this year at our Mother's Day brunch my grandson recommended the Harry Potter series to me and I have enjoyed every book in the series.  It took me six months to get through the series because,  using the digital library service,  the books are so popular I had to be on a waiting list for each book.  I realize there has been some criticism of the series because of they are fantasy books about witches and wizards.  Besides being great fun, the books stress good values of honesty and loyalty.  They emphasize making good choices for good and being against evil.  There are evil things in the world and it is good for children to feel empowered to take a stand against them.  The books teach cooperation with others.  I am pleased a generation is growing up with these values being presented in an entertaining way.   These are books that I would have read to my kids if they were out when they were in grade school.  We would have discussed the content as we finished reading a chapter or two each night.  J.K. Rowling has given the world a treasure with this book series and I am honored that my grandson shared this treasure with me. 

A Fall Of Marigolds by Susan Meissner

A Fall of Marigolds

by

Susan Meissner

This book contained all sorts of things that appealed to me.  It is a fiction story about a young nurse that witnesses the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in NYC and watches a friend leap to his death unable to help him and a young woman who is late to meet her husband at  Windows on the World the morning of 911 and is widowed as a result.  Both women have extreme survivors guilt.  The author uses the same antique scarf in the possession of both women to tie the story together.  The scarf is covered by cascading marigolds.    The modern day woman works in a fabric store and the concept of fabric and patterns is woven throughout her story.   The nurse from the early 1900's obtains a job at Ellis Island to escape from memories of the fire.  I listened to the book on audio.  I neglected to notice that it was a product by Christian Audio or,  not wanting to be preached at,  I most likely would not have selected it.  But I was pleased in that it was not a preachy book.  It was a clean book as far as its language and the behavior of the women involved, and at the end the author did express her opinion about the importance of romantic love in a person's life.  I do not agree with the author's conclusions.  Certainly we all need love in our lives but every one does not need romantic love to feel fulfilled.  Despite this disagreement with the author I recommend this book.  Some of the reviews criticize the book for being too dramatic.  I think the experiences the women had were very dramatic.  Other reviews criticized the nurse's described behavior in the book.  I think her hysteria was period appropriate.  That is how a woman would have reacted back then to that type of tragedy.  She showed strength to be able to eventually move beyond it.  Since the fabric expert was more functional I think the author was portraying the way women from each time period would have reacted.  This book is not going to be a classic and I would consider it under the topic of romance or chick lit so it is not the type of book I would normally read.  Nevertheless  I did enjoy it and would encourage those that like this venue to read it.  There is a lot in the book that book groups could discuss.  A portion of the proceeds from the book are donated to Save Ellis Island which you can read about by clicking HERE.  Please click on the author's name and book title at the beginning to follow the links to more information and enjoy the video that follows.