Top Books of the Year 2017

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I had a difficult year reading-wise. Nearly every book I completed ended up being just okay. Nothing really "wowed" me, but here are the 5 books I enjoyed the most:

5. Eruption by Steve Olson
Non-Fiction

An in-depth look at the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens. The specific focus of this book is to dispel the erroneous notion that the 57 people who died in the eruption were in the area "illegally" and thus "deserved" their deaths. (In fact, only the famous Harry R. Truman was illegally in the "red zone." The other 2 people killed in the red zone had permission to be there. All of the other victims were in the "blue zone," which was perfectly legal to be in.) Olson does a good job of explaining the history of logging in the area, and the political climate of the time, both of which directly led to the establishment of the loosey-goosey blue zone, and thus the deaths of far too many people. I also appreciated how thorough he was at explaining the various ways people can be killed in a volcanic eruption, even a dozen miles away from the blast.

4. 438 Days by Jonathan Franklin
Non-Fiction

The nearly unbelievable story of Salvador Alvarenga, a fisherman who, after getting caught in a terrible storm, spent 438 days adrift at sea, traveling all the way from Mexico to Marshall Islands. Alvarenga's boat was small; nearly all of his supplies were washed overboard in the storm, including food, water, and tools. His creativity in ensuring his own survival made it difficult to put this book down. He even made his own entertainment! I particularly enjoyed the "soccer game" he played with all of the birds he captured (by hand!). I'm not sure that I've ever read anything more inspiring than this story.

3. The Electrifying Fall of Rainbow City by Margaret Creighton
Non-Fiction

An exploration of the assassination of President William McKinley in September 1901, set against the backdrop of the World's Fair in Buffalo, NY. Creighton does a good job of setting the stage. It's just as much about Buffalo (and the surrounding area, including Niagra Falls) & the Fair as it is about McKinley & his assassin. Creighton uses quite a few contemporary accounts, really bringing this time period to life. I have a strange fascination with the World's Fair & wish it was something we still did in modern times.

2. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Fantasy Fiction

When I started reading this book, a co-worker fretted that I wouldn't be able to enjoy it, because it's set in the same universe as Bardugo's other books (but is an independent story) and I've read nothing else of Bardugo's. This wasn't a problem for me. Although I'm unfamiliar with her universe, I never felt lost or confused. In fact, I found her universe imaginative, her characters interesting and complex, and the story entertaining. In particular, I thought that the "heist" portion of the tale was very well done. My only complaint is that I didn't realize that it's the first book of a series. I loved the heck out of it right until the last two chapters, when I realized that the story wasn't going to be resolved. It was hugely disappointing. I may be the only person on the planet who prefers standalone books, but I do. I'll probably never read the sequels, so I'll never know where the story goes.

1. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Fiction

The only book this year that I truly loved. An excerpt from my review: "Simon is the tale of a closeted teenaged gay boy named Simon whose secret is discovered by a classmate, leading to blackmail. Which sounds pretty serious, and while there are some serious undertones to the story, overall it’s very lighthearted and sweet and fun.

The thing I liked most about this book was the characterization. I read a lot of young adult fiction and tend to find that teenagers don’t really act like teenagers in YA books. This is probably because most YA books are written by adults. I thought Albetalli did a fantastic job with writing realistic teenaged characters. I thought she did a fantastic job of writing nuanced adult characters as well."

I really can't gush enough about this book. I read it in 3 hours. It's now an all-time favorite!