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Best Books Read in 2017 So Far

1. A Practical Wedding Planner by Meg Keene










I read this first in 2016, but it was incredibly helpful planning my wedding, especially in the last couple days!

2. The Magician King by Lev Grossman










I appreciate so much more the riffing on and respect for some of my favorite children's fantasy novels, and the Magicians series are fantasy novels in their own right too. Currently finishing up the trilogy with The Magician's Land.

3. The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer



Insightful about who your audience really is, when it really is okay to ask (something I've struggled with most of my life), and plenty of wild, heartwarming stories from Amanda's life.





4. Wedding Stories, Ed. Diana Secker Tesdell



Thematic and timely for me, and also a thorough range of classic and contemporary American authors, from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Edwidge Danticat. Also starts off with an entertaining story from English author A. A. Milne.




5. The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski


The last in the Winner's Curse trilogy was my favorite. Besides being a compulsively readable trilogy, there's provocative commentary on the relationships between master/slave, oppressing/oppressed, and the series also moves beyond that in terms of Arin and Kestrel's relationship, plus just has some damn clever moves. I love having a female heroine who is probably an average fighter, but more importantly, a military genius, and recognized as such among allies and enemies alike.


6. The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell

Helen Russell provides a personal and informative account of her year living in Denmark. I found her impressions of the Danish lifestyle interesting, especially since Denmark is apparently the happiest country in the world!






7. Lab Girl by Hope Jahren



Hope Jahren's memoir is less about being a woman in the sciences and more an idiosyncratic grant proposal/love letter to plants and her lab partner, Bill--but a fascinating read that well deserves its popularity.






8. The Scar by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko


Marina and Sergey Dyachenko create a quirky and magnetic fairytale about a scar that turns a warrior into a coward.






9. Small Changes by Marge Piercy

I loved this book, but have a hard time explaining why. I grokked it in a very visceral way since it touches on the lives of two women, one who happens to be named Miriam, and threads through Boston and the feminist movement in the 1970s. If any of those subjects grab you, read this.





10. Heartless by Marissa Meyer


Thoroughly engrossing imagined backstory of the Queen of Hearts, recommended to those who are already Marissa Meyer fans and anyone who hasn't yet experienced her brand of fairytale retellings.

Comments

Looks like you've read some spectacular books so far this year!!

Here's a link to my TTT post for this week:

http://captivatedreader.blogspot.com/2017/06/top-ten-tuesday-best-books-ive-read-in.html

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