My 2017 in Books – What I’ve Read, What I’ve Loved

I read really fast–about 800 words a minute. It means that I devour books. I can easily read a 250 page book in a couple of hours. When I fly to Italy I usually read 1.5-2 books one way on the flight. For someone like me the Kindle is one of the best inventions ever, and my husband is grateful for the slightly smaller piles of actual books in our house.

I’m aiming to read 100 books this year. I’m currently at 61 books. I’ve read some really incredible ones this year including about 18 or 19 debut novels by fellow writers who unleashed their awesomeness out into the world (I read all my fellow Debutante’s books last fall!). Having my own debut novel out this year I have been so fortunate to band together with other debut writers to help each other promote our books, and of course, read some really wonderful stories.

Each of the books below is clickable if you want to choose a book by the cover. It would be impossible to tell you which one I enjoyed the most, honestly, because there are some incredible picks on this list. I read all my fellow Deb’s books back in 2016 so you won’t find them here. 🙂

Magicians Impossible by Brad Abraham Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore The Gypsy Moth Summer by Julia Fierro Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine The Necklace by Claire McMillan Borne by Jeff VanderMeer Cooking and Eating in Renaissance Italy by Katherine A. McIver One Summer Day in Rome by Mark Lamprell Eden by Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg Nate in Venice by Richard Russo Sweet Spot by Amy Ettinger 59 Glass Bridges by Steven Peters Palatine by L.J. Trafford The Queen and the Cure by Amy Harmon The Wardrobe Mistress by Meghan MastersonThe Waking Land by Callie Bates The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondō Give a Girl a Knife by Amy Thielen For the Winner by Emily Hauser The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry The Widow of Wall Street by Randy Susan Meyers The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich Hello, Sunshine by Laura Dave Assassin's Fate by Robin Hobb Out of Line by Barbara Lynch Futurist Cookbook by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti Cottonmouths by Kelly J. FordLincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman Elizabeth Bishop by Megan Marshall The Scribe of Siena by Melodie Winawer In The Name of the Family by Sarah Dunant The Sleeping World by Gabrielle Lucille Fuentes The Magician King by Lev Grossman The Good at Heart by Ursula Werner Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett Exit West by Mohsin Hamid The Confessions of Young Nero by Margaret George The Moon and the Bonfire by Cesare Pavese Homegoing by Yaa GyasiNever Trust a Thin Cook and Other Lessons from Italy's Culina... by Eric Dregni Apprenticed to Venus by Tristine Rainer A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence by Alyssa Palombo A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway Thus Were Their Faces by Silvina Ocampo Baking Powder Wars by Linda Civitello The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova Appetites by Anthony Bourdain Why I Write by George Orwell The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey Scratch by Manjula Martin Forks, Knives, and Spoons by Leah DeCesareThe Salt House by Lisa Duffy Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi The Devourers by Indra Das Fräulein M. by Caroline Woods

Author: Crystal King

Crystal King is a writer, culinary enthusiast and social media expert. Her writing is fueled by a love of history and an obsession with the food, language and culture of Italy. She has taught writing, creativity and social media at Grub Street and several universities including Harvard Extension School and Boston University. Crystal received her masters in critical and creative thinking from University of Massachusetts Boston. She lives with her husband and their two cats in the Boston area.

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