You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

I noticed this thread in another group and realized we don't have one here yet.

What are your 5 best and 5 worst reads of 2017?

In no particular order:

BEST
Pogingen iets van het leven te maken: Het geheime dagboek van Hendrik Groen, 83¼ jaar / The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83¼ Years Old (and I want to add the sequel here too)
His Bloody Project: Documents Relating to the Case of Roderick Macrae
Glory over Everything: Beyond The Kitchen House
A Man Called Ove
The Lost Wife

I haven't finished yet, but I expect The Desert Spear to deserve a place in the top 5 as well.


WORST
I Heart Ed Small (definitely the worst of the year)
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
The Best of Adam Sharp
Dead Until Dark
A Deadly Bridal Shower

(all 2-star ratings, except I Heart Ed Small, which got 1 star)

I was just thinking it was about time for this thread and here it is! :) I reread several books this year which were all titles I loved, but I am only going to include books that were new to me this year on this list.

BEST
Katherine
Days Without End
Golden Hill
Son of the Shadows
The Essex Serpent

WORST
The Butterfly Garden (no surprise there!)
When a Scot Ties the Knot
The Foxhole Court
The Upstairs Room
White is for Witching

I thought about this thread when the gr choice awards were announced then promptly forgot about it. Nice one Peggy.

Lisa wrote: "The Butterfly Garden (no surprise there!)"

Most of my GR friends hated it. I think Kimey was the only one who enjoyed this book.

I always find this thread so difficult to narrow down. I have to admit there are a couple of other books that I could swap in to either list and it would still be true. In no particular order:

BEST:
The Kitchen House
The Serpent King
Small Great Things
The Trophy Child
Bull Mountain

WORST:
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Treasure Island
First Grave on the Right
The Witchfinder's Sister
Wave

I've had The Poisonwood Bible on my tbr for ages and never feel inclined to read it. I slotted it in one of the 2018 challenge tasks, and now I see it here on your list of worst books. I might have to remove it again ;-)

I had to remove it because I realized that I read it in December of 2016, but I really did not enjoy that book. I felt it was far too long and just rambling. A lot of other people loved it though, so it could just be me.

Best of 2017

Lincoln in the Bardo Amazing 5 stars!
A Man Called Ove I loved Ove.
Caleb's Crossing Beautiful writing. Really beautiful writing.
The Lottery So disturbing and so good at the same time.
O Alienista I love Machado de Asis' acidic humor and sharp view of his contemporaries.

Worst of 2017

The Witchfinder's Sister *rolls eyes*
A Map of the World a WTF book.
Robinson Crusoe Incredibly boring.
We Were Liars Disappointing.
Nutcracker and Mouse-King Not what I was expecting.

In any case all of the above are 2 stars. I didn't have any 1 star rating this years, so I think this is good. I didn't have many 5 stars neither.

I also plan to read The Poisonwood Bible next year, and I have Wave too, for the black cover. :(

My problem here is that I do not carry on reading books if I don't like the writing style, it might be the best story ever but if I do not like the style of writing, it is curtains I suppose my favourite has been

What the Hell Did I Just Read I love everything John and Dave related, even the first book which was a bit disjointed.

my worst is Oathbringer

(view spoiler)[ I am enjoying this and it will probably end up with 5 stars but the chapters in the past are just dull because I already know dalinar the main character is safe, perhaps his wifes story could have been one or more of the short chapters to actually get me involved in that character and when he is invading a city in the first part, I already know what is going to happen - he wins.

shallan is by far the best character and most of Dalinars other chapters aren't the best, I am not sure why he brought Jasnah back, he should have given some trouble to someone else, Jasnah is flat out annoying

also moash just seems like voidwalker kaladin (hide spoiler)]

despite the above, I know this will end up 5 stars, I am pretty much half way through.

I was disappointed by We Were Liars too, Sandra. If I remember rightly, it was my least favourite read of 2014 or 2015 (can't remember off the top of my head which year it was).

ONLY FIVE? (view spoiler)[(My full list here! 2017 on Goodreads) (hide spoiler)]

Five Stars
UNUSUAL SELLING POINT
A Night in the Lonesome October

GET A ROOM
Fool

BOXALL
I, Robot

HISSY-FIC (Thank you Janice)
Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady (a must in audio)

PACKING HEAT
Flight Behavior

Breaking the rules here..."three must view picture books"
CALDECOTT WINNERS
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Flotsam
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears

Two Stars
The Black Book
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Going to the Dogs: The Story of a Moralist
The Tin Drum
When a Scot Ties the Knot

Sandra wrote: "I also plan to read The Poisonwood Bible next year, and I have Wave too, for the black cover. :("

Wave I was disappointed in because it was repetitive and I didn't like the woman whose story was being told. I assumed I would feel really sympathetic towards her and it would be a story of her recovery, but it didn't really work out that way.

@Cody: What?! Is that a typo? I don't want to read your spoiler but I'm in a slight panic now.

Sandra - I also have The Witchfinder's Sister on my worst list. Not at all what I was expecting. So disappointing. I am hoping to get to Lincoln in the Bardo in 2018. I'm so glad you loved it!

Almeta!! You are a horrid cheater. lol You have quite a few on your list that I want to read. :) And a couple that I also read and enjoyed.

Peggy wrote: "@Cody: What?! Is that a typo? I don't want to read your spoiler but I'm in a slight panic now."

Spoiler starts out: I am enjoying this and it will probably end up with 5 stars but the chapters in the past are just dull because I already know ... spoiler part

Peggy wrote: "@Cody: What?! Is that a typo? I don't want to read your spoiler but I'm in a slight panic now."

Lol sorry I knew I wouldn't write that well I am useless :P

I will try to explain here ...

I do not finish books I don't like so I have trouble with the 'worst' part of this thread. At the moment oathbringer has 4 stars (half way through) but I do not like some of the stuff in it, entire chapters I just want to whizz through.

It is my worst because I only read books that I really like

is that better? I hope it is

I suppose some people here have books rated 2 stars, that would never happen in my ratings

Lisa wrote: "I was disappointed by We Were Liars too, Sandra. ...."

My Review: "We", the critics, were liars.

Kristie wrote: "Almeta!! You are a horrid cheater. lol You have quite a few on your list that I want to read. :) And a couple that I also read and enjoyed."

Ooops...

Glad somebody got to see the extended version!☺

I narrowed it down BUT I did not want to!☻

Kristie wrote: "Wave I was disappointed in because it was repetitive and I didn't like the woman whose story was being told. I assumed I would feel really sympathetic towards her and it would be a story of her recovery, but it didn't really work out that way. "

Another GR friend said the same thing in her review... I might reconsider, or at least find a second option.

Kristie wrote: "I am hoping to get to Lincoln in the Bardo in 2018. I'm so glad you loved it! "

I hope you like it, Kristie. Actually I think it is something you would enjoy.

Kristie wrote: "Almeta!! You are a horrid cheater."

Isn't she? Hahaha. She always finds a way!

Cody, maybe you could list some that you didn’t finish as your worst, since they weren’t even good enough to continue with.

Oh pfew, thanks Cody and Kristie! Not as bad as it seemed at first :)

Lisa wrote: "....When a Scot Ties the Knot...."

I am sooo ashamed! Can't believe someone I know admits to also reading this!

Almeta wrote: "Lisa wrote: "....When a Scot Ties the Knot...."

I am sooo ashamed! Can't believe someone I know admits to also reading this!"

Lol! I'm glad I know someone else who read it! Nice to know we felt similarly about it too.

Cody wrote: "Peggy wrote: "@Cody: What?! Is that a typo? I don't want to read your spoiler but I'm in a slight panic now."

Lol sorry I knew I wouldn't write that well I am useless :P

I will try to explain her..."

So it's the worst of the best in other words.

This is a tricky one. I just went through my list and listed the ones I loved. It amounts to 12. But I'll be good and stick to 5.
Best
The Skull Throne great series. Loved everything about this book
Slade House generated some great discussion in the group read. Very atmospheric and beautifully written
The Nix awesome debut. Beautifully written
Norse Mythology great short stories that a flow from one to the next skilfully so that it almost feels like a novel
Old Man's War (and two subsequent books) great series. Scalzi bad to feature in my top 5 as he is an awesome writer and i love his style

Worst
The Vagrant - enjoyed it but it was confusing. Also had to take a massive gap in reading it because I lost interest
Survivor - audiobook. I really enjoyed the vast majority of the book but other parts i wasn't so keen on
I didn't abandon any books this year and 3 stars are the lowest rated books I have, and that the two listed above.

Sounds like you had a great reading year, Sarah! Maybe that'll be my goal in 2018. Nothing less than 3 stars. Though, that's really hard to do when trying to complete challenges. Maybe I should shift my priorities for a while and see how it goes.

Best
Les Misérables
Anne of Green Gables,the whole series.
The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson
The Secret Garden
Emma

Worst
A Perfect Gentleman
Surrender
Waiting For Nick
Heart of the Sea
The Undying King

Kristie wrote: "Cody, maybe you could list some that you didn’t finish as your worst, since they weren’t even good enough to continue with."

i will cetainly start doing that but this year i have only really read books i have enjoyed, parts of series. i imagine next year, as i am involved in the reading challenge, i will have more that i cannot finish.

i promise to update them as and when but this year i have basically read The Black Company series and then i think 8 or nine of Michael J sullivans books, which i love

Peggy wrote: "Oh pfew, thanks Cody and Kristie! Not as bad as it seemed at first :)"

I am sorry to have scared you, i also know that books ramp up at the end and i am only halfway through.

@sarah that is 100% correct, sorry for my meandering ways

Only five??? Groan!
BEST:
- The Return: Fathers, Sons, and the Land in Between
- Home Fire
- Claire of the Sea Light
- Pachinko
- Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

WORST:
- Lincoln in the Bardo
- A Very Long Engagement
- The Sea

I didn't award many 5 stars this year.


Beartown
Ready Player One
Son of the Shadows
A Monster Calls

My least favourite of the year:

Something
Waterfall
Story of O
The Grail Quest
Calendar Girl: Volume One

Good call Peggy. I love the "HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT? IT'S MY MOST FAVOURITE/MOST HATED BOOK EVER!!!!" thread.

Hours of giggling and very heavy TBRs shall ensue!

Sandra and Peggy - I stuck The Poisonwood Bible in my Zodiac Challenge list too. I've owned it for several years. I'm not ready to jump into a buddy read for it right away, but maybe later in the year, we can get the courage to take it together.

Lol Rusalka, I already noticed Lincoln in the Bardo popping up on both best and worst lists ;-)

Cherie, sounds like a plan!

I loved Poisonwood Bible. So you know :P

This is always an interesting thread, especially to compare how differently people rate books. Sarah: you mentioned that you haven't rated any books less than three stars. LOL, my average rating for all of the over 300 books I've read is 2.3 for this year. I end up reading lots of really bad books because I need them for one challenge or another. Luckily most such books are kindle freebies or audio books from the library.

BEST (5 stars)
Prickle Moon excellent short story collection, absolutely recommended
Hammaskeiju this is a Finnish book about a single dad and his son, really funny and a bit sad too; it hasn't been translated, but wanted to mention it as I really liked it
Silence Fallen I think this was probably the best book in the Mercy Thompson series that I've read

In addition, I had several four star reads, but as I can list only two more here, I'll choose Rot & Ruin (because the whole series was a pretty consistent four stars) and The Fireman (like father like son).

WORST
I counted that I have had 79 one-star reads so far during this year. can't choose the worst of the worst.

@Camilla, 79 one-stars! Oh my God! You are definitively resilient!

@Cherie, I'd love to buddy read TPB with you and Peggy. My library holds it in print and electronic versions, so I do not have preferences of when to read it.

Wow. That's a lot of crap books Camilla. I think i'd lose interest in reading if i read that many rubbish books.

I'll have to bump up Rot & Ruin on my list.

Sarah wrote: "Wow. That's a lot of crap books Camilla. I think i'd lose interest in reading if i read that many rubbish books.

I'll have to bump up Rot & Ruin on my list."

I'm a pretty fast reader, so I often read quite many bad books especially for group challenges. It does take me only a couple of hours to finish a 150-page book. If I read slower, I probably wouldn't do it. And they are on my TBR, so I also want to get them out of there.

Camilla wrote: "....In addition, I had several four star reads, but as I can list only two more here, I'll choose Rot & Ruin (because the whole series was a pretty consistent four stars) ..."

Liked Rot & Ruin. Thanks for mentioning it. I need to escalate Dust & Decay near the top and continue with this series.

Camilla wrote: "...WORST
I counted that I have had 79 one-star reads so far during this year. can't choose the worst of the worst...."

With your rating scale, I am assuming five stars is really superior. I'll have to add all your !☺

Rusalka wrote: "I loved Poisonwood Bible. So you know :P"

If you look at the ratings, more people love it than not. It just wasn't for me. I'm sure plenty of other people will love it too.

Camilla - I still have to read Silence Fallen. It was a pre-order for me and I never got around to it! I also loved The Fireman. I'd love for you to post a few 1 star books, even if they weren't the worst of the worst, they were still books you really didn't like. I'm curious what made that list.

Kristie wrote: "Rusalka wrote: "I loved Poisonwood Bible. So you know :P"

If you look at the ratings, more people love it than not. It just wasn't for me. I'm sure plenty of other people will love it too."

And I totally understand, and get that. I just laugh because every year this thread does this. But I perversely love the thread!!!!