The Top Ten Books (I've Read) of 2017
Going over the list of books I’ve read in 2017, I see a decided emphasis on one topic: Henry David Thoreau. I’m currently working on a novel which uses Walden as a springboard, so I spent a good part of the year reading about Walden Pond, Thoreau, and Transcendentalism.
Other subjects included children’s literature, westerns, Superman, and Kolchak, the Night Stalker (one of my favorite TV shows when I was a kid).
In no particular order, here are my ten favorite books of 2017:
Destry Rides Again, by Max BrandThe Jimmy Stewart movie is one of my favorites, so when I came across a copy of the original novel, I had to read it. I knew that the plot would be completely different, but that did not detract from a great story. Destry is wrongly accused of a crime, and when he is paroled ten years later, he returns to town to exact revenge on the crooked jury as well as the mastermind behind the crime. Along the way Destry learns to address his own shortcomings: in his youth, he was naïve and gullible, so he takes responsibility for his part of his downfall.
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, by Max Brooks
I read both The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z. My favorite is definitely the latter. Brooks takes the Studs Terkel approach to storytelling, in that his characters narrate personal incidents and insights about the Zombie War. A deftly handled fictional history that also speaks volumes about how governments work and how people choose to survive.
Leverage, by Joshua C. CohenHigh school football players bully boys on the gymnastics squad, igniting an escalating battle that results in rape and death. Harrowing and compelling, the story keeps turning up the heat to an (almost) satisfying conclusion. While I found the ending a little weak, it did not detract from the overall power of the story.
Shantytown, USA: Forgotten Landscapes of the Working Poor, by Lisa GoffComplete transparency here: Lisa Goff is my sister-in-law. Her work lands her on this list because she brings to light a marginalized segment of society. Shantytowns are nothing new in the US; they have been part of the landscape from the 1800s through the Hoovervilles of the Great Depression. Goff analyzes how they form but also how the residents adapt to the landscape. Traditional society has never known what to do with people who do not conform to the norm: “Throughout the nineteenth century and into the twentieth, shantytowns were putty in the hands of social critics, policymakers, and cultural commentators intent on shaping perceptions of poor people by making moral judgments about the landscapes they occupied – or in the case of shantytown residents, that they created.” An unexpected history.
It, by Stephen KingOkay, so I wrote in my earlier review that I found the novel long-winded and boring. Yet it lands on my favorite books list because I haven’t stopped thinking about it. That must mean something.
Walden Pond: A History, by W. Barksdale MaynardEveryone knows about Walden Pond because Thoreau built a cabin there. Maynard traces the curious history of the park itself – how the woods were trod by Transcendentalists then became a personal memorial to Thoreau and eventually morphed into the destination for many pilgrims. The author raises interesting questions about how we preserve our sacred spaces.
We Need to Talk about Kevin, Lionel ShriverOne of the first books I read this year, and at the time I predicted it would be on my Best of …list. A chillingly insightful novel that examines a mother’s sense of culpability in her son’s crimes. It also opens up the debate about possible causes of the increasing violence in our society. The best image of the novel is Kevin wearing clothes that are too small for him: he may be a child but he has committed adult-sized murder.
Drood, by Dan SimmonsIs it a thriller? A biography? It’s both. Seemingly supernatural elements may be the catalyst of the story as Simmons’ unreliable narrator Wilkie Collins takes us on a wild ride through the last years of Charles Dickens’ life. Very readable.
The Return of the Shadow: The History of the Lord of the Rings, Part One, by J.R.R. TolkienTolkien’s son Christopher cobbles together the earliest drafts of The Fellowship of the Ring, which reveals that J.R.R. barely had a clue about where his story was heading. What initially started as a charming sequel to The Hobbit was destined for something much bigger. This book reveals the author’s creative process – from naming Hobbit families to figuring out who the heck the Black Riders are anyway. I’m not sure if this book is for die-hard LOTR fans, scholars, or wannabe writers. In any case, I found it fascinating and plan to read the next volumes in the series.
Superman: The High-Flying History of America’s Most Enduring Hero, by Larry TyeI got onto a Superman kick: a volume of the original comic books, an encyclopedia of the characters, and Tye’s history of the franchise. Tye’s narrative style is serviceable, but it’s the story he tells that is fascinating – from Siegel and Shuster’s original character to the various ages of the hero (Golden Age, Silver Age, and Bronze), from the TV shows to the movies. What it reveals is that many creative minds have come together to form this powerful mythology.
Here’s the complete list of books I’ve read in 2017:
Being Henry David, Cal ArmisteadThe Secret of Terror Castle: (Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators, #1), Robert ArthurGreen Shadows, White Whale: A Novel of Ray Bradbury’s Adventures Making Moby Dick with John Huston in Ireland, Ray BradburyDestry Rides Again, Max BrandWorld War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, Max BrooksThe Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead, Max BrooksIf You Spent a Day with Thoreau at Walden Pond, Robert BurleighThe King in Yellow, Robert W. ChambersTaking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears, Pema ChodronLeverage, Joshua C. CohenNo Thoroughfare, Charles Dickens and Wilkie CollinsA Tale of Two Cities, Charles DickensDrinks before Dinner, E.L. DoctorowThe Heroines, Eileen FavoriteShantytown, USA: Forgotten Landscapes of the Working Poor, Lisa GoffPlotting and Writing Suspense Fiction, Patricia HighsmithGoodbye, Mr. Chips, James HiltonThe Resurrectionist: The Lost Works of Dr. Spencer Black, E.B. HudspethDubliners, James JoyceKolchak the Night Stalker: Volume I, Stuart M. KaminskyIt, Stephen KingThe Long Ride Home, Louis L’AmourInside Inside, James LiptonHow Green Was My Valley, Richard LlewellynScary Out There, ed. Jonathan MaberryThe Kolchak Scripts, Richard MathesonWalden Pond: A History, W. Barksdale MaynardThe Children of the New Forest, Frederick MarryattThe Mugger, Ed McBainWalden Then and Now: An Alphabetical Tour of Henry Thoreau’s Pond, Michael McCurdyOmbria in Shadow, Patricia A. McKillipWalking Towards Walden: A Pilgrimage in Search of Place, John Hanson MitchellNemesis, Jo NesboA Dog of Flanders, OuidaHarry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 & 2, J.K. RowlingWe Need to Talk about Kevin, Lionel ShriverThe Superman Chronicles, Vol. 9, Jerry SiegelDrood, Dan SimmonsPhilomena: A Mother, Her Son, and a Fifty-Year Search, Martin SixsmithThe Art of Racing in the Rain, Garth SteinNightmare Hour, R.L. StineThe Thoreau You Don’t Know: What the Prophet of Environmentalism Really Meant, Robert SullivanAll That Man Is, David SzalayThe Portable Thoreau, Henry David ThoreauThe Testament of Mary, Colm ToibinThe Return of the Shadow: The History of the Lord of the Rings, Part One, J.R.R. TolkienSuperman: The High-Flying History of America’s Most Enduring Hero, Larry TyeSuperman: The Ultimate Guide to the Man of Steel, Daniel WallaceThe Tall Book of Make-Believe, Jane Warner WatsonThe Skin of Our Teeth, Thornton Wilder
Other subjects included children’s literature, westerns, Superman, and Kolchak, the Night Stalker (one of my favorite TV shows when I was a kid).
In no particular order, here are my ten favorite books of 2017:
Destry Rides Again, by Max BrandThe Jimmy Stewart movie is one of my favorites, so when I came across a copy of the original novel, I had to read it. I knew that the plot would be completely different, but that did not detract from a great story. Destry is wrongly accused of a crime, and when he is paroled ten years later, he returns to town to exact revenge on the crooked jury as well as the mastermind behind the crime. Along the way Destry learns to address his own shortcomings: in his youth, he was naïve and gullible, so he takes responsibility for his part of his downfall.
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, by Max Brooks
I read both The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z. My favorite is definitely the latter. Brooks takes the Studs Terkel approach to storytelling, in that his characters narrate personal incidents and insights about the Zombie War. A deftly handled fictional history that also speaks volumes about how governments work and how people choose to survive.
Leverage, by Joshua C. CohenHigh school football players bully boys on the gymnastics squad, igniting an escalating battle that results in rape and death. Harrowing and compelling, the story keeps turning up the heat to an (almost) satisfying conclusion. While I found the ending a little weak, it did not detract from the overall power of the story.
Shantytown, USA: Forgotten Landscapes of the Working Poor, by Lisa GoffComplete transparency here: Lisa Goff is my sister-in-law. Her work lands her on this list because she brings to light a marginalized segment of society. Shantytowns are nothing new in the US; they have been part of the landscape from the 1800s through the Hoovervilles of the Great Depression. Goff analyzes how they form but also how the residents adapt to the landscape. Traditional society has never known what to do with people who do not conform to the norm: “Throughout the nineteenth century and into the twentieth, shantytowns were putty in the hands of social critics, policymakers, and cultural commentators intent on shaping perceptions of poor people by making moral judgments about the landscapes they occupied – or in the case of shantytown residents, that they created.” An unexpected history.
It, by Stephen KingOkay, so I wrote in my earlier review that I found the novel long-winded and boring. Yet it lands on my favorite books list because I haven’t stopped thinking about it. That must mean something.
Walden Pond: A History, by W. Barksdale MaynardEveryone knows about Walden Pond because Thoreau built a cabin there. Maynard traces the curious history of the park itself – how the woods were trod by Transcendentalists then became a personal memorial to Thoreau and eventually morphed into the destination for many pilgrims. The author raises interesting questions about how we preserve our sacred spaces.
We Need to Talk about Kevin, Lionel ShriverOne of the first books I read this year, and at the time I predicted it would be on my Best of …list. A chillingly insightful novel that examines a mother’s sense of culpability in her son’s crimes. It also opens up the debate about possible causes of the increasing violence in our society. The best image of the novel is Kevin wearing clothes that are too small for him: he may be a child but he has committed adult-sized murder.
Drood, by Dan SimmonsIs it a thriller? A biography? It’s both. Seemingly supernatural elements may be the catalyst of the story as Simmons’ unreliable narrator Wilkie Collins takes us on a wild ride through the last years of Charles Dickens’ life. Very readable.
The Return of the Shadow: The History of the Lord of the Rings, Part One, by J.R.R. TolkienTolkien’s son Christopher cobbles together the earliest drafts of The Fellowship of the Ring, which reveals that J.R.R. barely had a clue about where his story was heading. What initially started as a charming sequel to The Hobbit was destined for something much bigger. This book reveals the author’s creative process – from naming Hobbit families to figuring out who the heck the Black Riders are anyway. I’m not sure if this book is for die-hard LOTR fans, scholars, or wannabe writers. In any case, I found it fascinating and plan to read the next volumes in the series.
Superman: The High-Flying History of America’s Most Enduring Hero, by Larry TyeI got onto a Superman kick: a volume of the original comic books, an encyclopedia of the characters, and Tye’s history of the franchise. Tye’s narrative style is serviceable, but it’s the story he tells that is fascinating – from Siegel and Shuster’s original character to the various ages of the hero (Golden Age, Silver Age, and Bronze), from the TV shows to the movies. What it reveals is that many creative minds have come together to form this powerful mythology.Here’s the complete list of books I’ve read in 2017:
Being Henry David, Cal ArmisteadThe Secret of Terror Castle: (Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators, #1), Robert ArthurGreen Shadows, White Whale: A Novel of Ray Bradbury’s Adventures Making Moby Dick with John Huston in Ireland, Ray BradburyDestry Rides Again, Max BrandWorld War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, Max BrooksThe Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead, Max BrooksIf You Spent a Day with Thoreau at Walden Pond, Robert BurleighThe King in Yellow, Robert W. ChambersTaking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears, Pema ChodronLeverage, Joshua C. CohenNo Thoroughfare, Charles Dickens and Wilkie CollinsA Tale of Two Cities, Charles DickensDrinks before Dinner, E.L. DoctorowThe Heroines, Eileen FavoriteShantytown, USA: Forgotten Landscapes of the Working Poor, Lisa GoffPlotting and Writing Suspense Fiction, Patricia HighsmithGoodbye, Mr. Chips, James HiltonThe Resurrectionist: The Lost Works of Dr. Spencer Black, E.B. HudspethDubliners, James JoyceKolchak the Night Stalker: Volume I, Stuart M. KaminskyIt, Stephen KingThe Long Ride Home, Louis L’AmourInside Inside, James LiptonHow Green Was My Valley, Richard LlewellynScary Out There, ed. Jonathan MaberryThe Kolchak Scripts, Richard MathesonWalden Pond: A History, W. Barksdale MaynardThe Children of the New Forest, Frederick MarryattThe Mugger, Ed McBainWalden Then and Now: An Alphabetical Tour of Henry Thoreau’s Pond, Michael McCurdyOmbria in Shadow, Patricia A. McKillipWalking Towards Walden: A Pilgrimage in Search of Place, John Hanson MitchellNemesis, Jo NesboA Dog of Flanders, OuidaHarry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 & 2, J.K. RowlingWe Need to Talk about Kevin, Lionel ShriverThe Superman Chronicles, Vol. 9, Jerry SiegelDrood, Dan SimmonsPhilomena: A Mother, Her Son, and a Fifty-Year Search, Martin SixsmithThe Art of Racing in the Rain, Garth SteinNightmare Hour, R.L. StineThe Thoreau You Don’t Know: What the Prophet of Environmentalism Really Meant, Robert SullivanAll That Man Is, David SzalayThe Portable Thoreau, Henry David ThoreauThe Testament of Mary, Colm ToibinThe Return of the Shadow: The History of the Lord of the Rings, Part One, J.R.R. TolkienSuperman: The High-Flying History of America’s Most Enduring Hero, Larry TyeSuperman: The Ultimate Guide to the Man of Steel, Daniel WallaceThe Tall Book of Make-Believe, Jane Warner WatsonThe Skin of Our Teeth, Thornton Wilder
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