2017 Bookish Roundup

It's been a very long while since my last post and long time since I've updated my reading list! Whoa! 2017 was a particularly rough year for my family with my uncle (and best friend and mentor and champion) being diagnosed with and eventually dying from a stage IV glioblastoma (a really bad, aggressive brain tumor), my mom being moved into a memory care facility due to worsening dementia symptoms, and myself having gastrointestinal issues that had me quite ill for months on end and finally resulted in surgery. 

Thankfully 2017 is coming to a close and life is starting to look up. 

I'm also back to more regular reading, and I'm quite happy about that!

Without further ado, here are some of my 2017 reading stats, the five books I loved the most, and the books I'm currently reading as I finish out the year:

Books read in 2016: 39

Books read in 2017: 23

The five books I loved the most from my 2017 reading:
Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals that Brought Me Home by Jessica Fechtor
Stir is equal parts memoir and cookbook--honestly, this kind of crossover is my favorite genre! I love memoirs infused with recipes and delicious food! Fechtor suffered a horrific medical event that could have killed her and it ruined her ability to smell or taste food for a long time. She worked hard to fight her way back from illness to her life and she talks about how food and cooking are a huge part of her life and connect her to memories of childhood and growing up.  (Get it on Amazon HERE)

Bon Appetempt: A Coming of Age Story (with recipes) by Amelia Morris
Another memoir/cookbook crossover! Seriously, I can't get enough of this type of book! Bon Appetempt is set in Paris, France which adds a fun dimension to the memoir/crossover. Morris writes about her experiences as a US expat in Paris, her job journey, relationship, markets in Paris, and cooking. I devoured it! (Get in Amazon HERE)

The Scavenger's Daughters by Kay Bratt
The Scavenger's Daughter was a delightful find on Amazon Prime Reading (NOT the same thing as Amazon's Kindle Unlimited program!). I stumbled upon it at work when NOTHING was happening and NOTHING had been happening for hours on end--shhhh! Don't tell my boss! I rarely read on a tablet, computer, or device, preferring actual books in hand, but Amazon Prime Reading has saved me from falling asleep due to boredom at work when NOTHING is happening, everything is completely caught up, and there's nothing more to do while I wait for a patient to sign in (I work in patient registration in an Emergency Department). 

Anyhow, The Scavenger's Daughters is a fictional piece about a man and his wife who survived the Cultural Revolution in China, but due to a variety of reasons, the husband is unable to work beyond being a scavenger. He picks up other people's discards and resells them to earn money. During the course of his scavenging, over several years, he has also happened upon discarded female babies and children! He rescues these girls and he and his wife raise them as their daughters. The novel is a lovely story about the love of family and the fact that family is what you make it. There's a lot more to it, but that's the most boiled down version I can offer. (Get it on Amazon HERE or find Amazon Reading within your Prime Membership and see if it's still available for FREE as a Prime member!)

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalinithi
Whoa! When Breath Becomes Air is a TEAR JERKER! Have tissues at hand, and if you read it in public, be prepared to cry in front of others! This is one of only maybe three books that have ever made my cry in public, and I wasn't the least bit embarrassed or ashamed. That's how powerful this memoir is. Kalinithi was a medical resident in neurosurgery and found himself facing cancer which ultimately took his life. The book is both sad and uplifting at the same time. If I could only recommend ONE book from my 2017 reading, it would be this one! (Get it on Amazon HERE)

No Other World by Rahul Mehta
No Other World was a random library grab and I'm so glad I brought it home! I'm not sure why I picked it up initially--the cover isn't all that amazing and I didn't read the flap. I just grabbed it and checked it out, and I'm so glad I did! Mehta did a masterful job of writing a novel that crosses cultures, carefully explores coming of age, and captures both the loveliness and cruelty of being a young person lost in the world. Please note, however, that if you find sexual scenes offensive, this novel is not for you--there are a couple of scenes that depict abuse and a few that are coming of age. (Get it on Amazon HERE)

The books I read in 2017 were almost entirely excellent! Boiling down my favorites to only five was no easy feat! 

The books I'm currently reading as I finish out 2017:

• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins -- not to be confused with Girl on a Train by AJ Waines (one of my 2016 favorites!)
• The Whistler by John Grisham
• The Strange Disappearance of a Bollywood Star by Vaseem Khan
• Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

My reading goals for 2018 include:

• Weekly reading blog posts
• Donate 48 books to children's literacy projects/groups
• Start a monthly silent reading group

How did your reading goals go in 2017? Do you have reading goals for 2018? Post a comment and let me know!

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