We're halfway through 2017 already, so I thought it was a good time to look back over the books I've read this year so far. Here are my top ten (in reverse order):


10. We Should All Be Feminists (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 2014)

The title says it all. Personal, powerful, and unfortunately pertinent. And its brevity is an added bonus.


9. Game of Queens: The Women Who Made Sixteenth-Century Europe (Sarah Gristwood, 2016)

Many of the books on this list feature strong women, and this is no exception. Gristwood has taken one of my favourite periods of history and delved into the parts which tend to be the least studied, despite arguably being the most interesting. The way she smoothly navigates the reader through the wide-ranging periods and countries is particularly impressive.


8. Kill the Father (Sandrone Dazieri, 2014)

This is the perfect antidote for cliched thrillers and police procedurals. When the main characters are a warrior-like female detective, not without her vulnerabilities, and a man who spent his childhood trapped inside a concrete silo, you know you're onto a winner. I also love the fact that, unlike most crime fiction, this is a fairly hefty tome.


7. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams, 1979)

This is one of those books that I've been meaning to read for longer than I can remember. And it didn't disappoint. Bizarre, brilliant, and surprisingly thought-provoking, it's guaranteed to make you smile if nothing else.


6. I Let You Go (Clare Mackintosh, 2014)

Two words: the twist.


5. Runemarks (Joanne Harris, 2007)

This is one of those books which I wasn't sure about when I started reading it, enticed by the beautiful cover and the author, whose Gentlemen and Players is one of my all-time favourites. But as soon as I started reading, I found myself immersed in this sweeping tale of gods, prophecies, goblins, magic, and myth.


4. Evil Games (Angela Marsons, 2015)

There are so many crime series out there that's it's hard to know where to start. I would definitely recommend prioritizing this one. Kim Stone, a Detective Inspector in the West Midlands Police, listens to classical music, drives a Golf GTI, rides a 600cc Kawasaki Ninja, and is now one of my all-time favourite characters. I immediately added the entire series to my to-read list.


3. Home (Harlan Coben, 2016)

After a five year gap since the last book in the Myron Bolitar series, which I adore, and a slight dip in my enjoyment in the last few books in the series, reading this book actually felt like coming home.


2. The Big Sleep (Raymond Chandler, 1939)

Books like this are the reason why my to-read list never actually decreases in size. I finally read The Big Sleep, and now I want to read the entire series. Chandler's style of writing is absolutely beautiful, and I love the fact that this book never quite went where I was expecting it to. I'm also not ashamed to admit that I have a small crush on Marlowe.


1. The Gene: An Intimate History (Siddhartha Mukherjee, 2016)

I have a sneaky feeling that when I make a list of my favourite books of the year at the end of 2017, this book will still be number one. I cannot praise Mukerjee's style of writing, in this biography of the gene, highly enough. I do need to apologise, however, to everyone who is tired of hearing me talk about The Gene, which I have done endlessly since I first picked it up.


What are your favourite books of the year so far? And what do you think of my choices?