My Favorites List for 2017, Part 1

When I woke up this morning I thought I was quoting Shakespeare when I turned to Don and said, "The world is too much with us." Turns out, it was Wordsworth who deserves the honors and, if he was alive today he would double down on that sentiment I'm sure. 2017 has not been a year I'd want to repeat. In fact, more than ever, I just want to hide my face in literature and leave the news of the world behind. But that isn't fair, is it? If we turn our heads away from the steady disintegration of civility in our country, beginning with our nominal head of state, then we are responsible in some indirect way for perpetuating it.

It seems that I have given an inordinate amount of time to the news media this year. I've only managed to read one hundred books in 2017, the lowest number since my retirement. The good news is that there are way more than ten titles that could make my top ten list, including novels that I've read for the second time. ("Homegoing" by Yaa Gyasi for one) But, I have to draw the line somewhere so, in no particular order, I'll share the first five today:

In memoir, I was blown away by Connie May Fowler, Bruce Springsteen, and Joyce Maynard.


http://bit.ly/2Dxo6dw






http://bit.ly/2lksTby







http://bit.ly/2sZQP5O







And then there are the oh, so difficult reads that introduce us to characters we are never going to forget. Two such novels that will wrench your guts came from Jesmyn Ward and Hanya Yanagihara:

http://bit.ly/2loFDgG

 

 

http://bit.ly/2C7Frxs

 

 



And in deference to my healing arm, I will continue my favorites list tomorrow. Happy reading!