Big Ass Book List
New year, new books! Here is a list of the 40ish books and comics I read in 2017 in no particular order. It was a good year for reading books featuring diverse, interesting characters, not mention books by women and authors of color. My tastes skewed very much in the direction of young adult novels, as well as speculative fiction and fantasy. Before you write off any of those genres, I genuinely encourage you explore them -- some of the most interesting, progressive authors are publishing the most fascinating, inclusive literature in this space.
I should add that this is not a comprehensive list for a few reasons: I also read a bunch of academic books for class. You will not see them listed here. In addition, I started reading about 10-15 books that I enjoyed well enough, but never finished. You will not see them listed here.
I encourage you to check these out from the library or local bookstore. Setting up an Overdrive or Libby account with your public library card is particularly useful if you like reading on a tablet or e-reader.
*** denotes books I really loved. * means I would recommend. The rest are all decent unless I specifically wrote "mehhh."
Madame President: The Extraordinary Journey of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Helene Cooper) - *** I said I didn't put this in a particular order, but I have to put this first. It was truly the best book I read this year. Liberian Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the first woman president in all of Africa. But she is complex as hell, and this World Bank darling's role in Liberia's bloody history needs examining. Helene Cooper captures it all, in unflinching and expert writing: Women voting, the domestic abuse Sirleaf survived, Ebola. I cried at multiple junctures. You can see why Cooper was The New York Times' White House correspondent during the Obama administration, and why she was part of the 2015 team that won the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting on the Ebola epidemic.
Warcross (Marie Lu) - *** Neuroscience, hacking, virtual reality, video games, and excellent Asian(!!) characters.
The Magicians (Lev Grossman) - * Narnia meets Harry Potter, but darker and for adults.
We Are Never Meeting in Real Life (Samantha Irby) - *** She is my favorite. Lots of laugh-crying. Lots on race, sexuality, class, and her stupid cat.
Ramona Blue (Julie Murphy) - *** Ramona is a queer, poor white teenager in Eulogy, Mississippi, living in her family's post-Katrina FEMA trailer. What happens when her childhood Freddie comes back to town? The writing is exquisite.
Karma Khullar's Mustache (Kristi Wientge) - * Karma is starting sixth grade, her dad was laid off, she's grown exactly 17 hairs on her upper lip, and everything is going wrong. I got super feels.
Dumplin' (Julie Murphy) - * Willowdean has always been at home in her skin, even with her beauty queen mom. But when a weird kinda relationship with Private School Bo happens, that self-assurance goes off-kilter. So Willowdean finds herself entering her small town's beauty pageant...
Bright Lines (Tanwi Nandini Islam) - mehhhhhh
A Darker Shade of Magic - Book 1 (V.E. Schwab) - * The whole series is quite good: Alternate Londons, pirates, magic, queer princes, and traveling between worlds.
A Gathering of Shadows - Book 2 (V.E. Schwab)
A Conjuring of Light - Book 3 (V.E. Schwab)
The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter (Theodora Goss) - * Mary Jekyll is penniless after her parents' death: A clue that her mysterious father's colleague, Edward Hyde, is nearby sets her on a chase to track him down and collect the reward. With the assistance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Mary finds more women, all created through terrifying experimentation. Oh, this one is hard to explain, but I loved it.
Akata Witch (Nnedi Okorafor) - *** I adored this book. 12-year-old Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born American. Oh, and even though she's African, she's also albino. There's no place she really fits in, until she discovers her latent power. The magic and world-building is soooo non-Western-centric and amazing.
Akata Warrior (Nnedi Okorafor) - *
The Prey of Gods (Nicky Drayden)
Shadowshaper (Daniel Jose Older) - *** Sierra Santiago is looking forward to summer in Brooklyn: finishing up a mural she's painting, hanging out with her crew. But then a corpse crashes the first party of the summer, her comatose grandpa keeps apologizing to her, and Sierra discovers shadowshaping, "a magic that infuses ancestral spirits into paintings, music, and stories."
Shadowhouse Fall (Daniel Jose Older) The sequel to Shadowshaper brings the magic of the first book to starting a conversation about police violence against black teenagers. How Older manages to do this is pretty great.
Dreadnought (April Daniels) I feel like I have to add the note: A trans superhero written by a trans author. I am so glad this exists. The second book, Sovereign, grapples with race and trans-exclusionary feminists too... but is still solidly a superhero book.
Sovereign (April Daniels)
Bitch Planet, Vol. 2: President Bitch (Kate DeConnick) - *** Imagine a future where the world is run by the Council of Fathers and "noncompliant women" -- queer, fat, brown, gender nonconforming women -- are sent to a space prison nicknamed Bitch Planet. Volume 1 was the best thing I read right after the election. Volume 2 was even better.
Ms. Marvel, Vo. 1 to 6 (G. Willow Wilson)
Binti (Nnedi Okorafor)
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (Timothy Snyder)
Dot Jounaling: A Practical Guide (Rachel Wilkerson Miller) - * Really and truly excellent guide for getting a bullet journal started. And the author is from my hometown and one of my favorite writers online!
Feed the Resistance: Recipes and Ideas for Getting Involved (Julia Turshen) - *
Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit (Jaye Robin Brown) - *** Queer girl in the South has to figure out what to do when her well-intentioned preacher father asks her to stay in the closet when moving to small-town Georgia. And Jaye Robin Brown is an incredible human -- I got to see her speak last spring, and her story is just moving.
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows (Balli Kaur Jaswal) - *** Yes, yes yes. You can read my review for The Aerogram for details.
Pashmina (Nidhi Chanani)
Surpassing Certainty (Janet Mock) - *** What to say about Janet Mock? She is incredible. Her memoir, essential. Loved it.
Magpie Murders (Anthony Horowitz) - * A book in a book. The structure was crazy and refreshing.
Hunger (Roxane Gay)
My Soul Looks Back (Jessica B. Harris) - mehhhhh
Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge (Paul Krueger)
Black Panther, Book 1: A Nation Under Our Feet (Ta-Nehisi Coates)
Relish: My Life in the Kitchen (Lucy Knisely)
A Murder in Time (Julie McElwain)
Cork Dork (Bianca Bosker) - mehhh
32 Yolks (Eric Ripert)
A Field Guide to Getting Lost (Rebecca Solnit) - * I read this around the time my dear uncle passed away. I dunno. For some reason, Solnit's language just really hit the spot. Gentle and thoughtful.
Ghosts (Raina Telgemeier) - *** Catrina and her family are moving to northern California, and isn't quite thrilled. But her little sister, Maya, has cystic fibrosis and will supposedly benefit from the cool, salty sea air. A new neighbor lets them in on a secret: There are ghosts in their California town. Although Cat wants nothing to do with them, she might not have a choice.
How to Be A Person in the World (Heather Havrilesky)