Bestest Books of the Year!

I didn't read a phenomenal amount of books last year on account of being distracted with other stuff but, when I consider the ones I did read, I have to conclude that 2017 wasn't the most enlightening period ever experienced along the course of my literary timeline.

But it's difficult to go a year without reading at least a couple of great works on top of a fair ole clutch of 'fine' reads. The pic below shows, from top-left to bottom-right, the ones I enjoyed most in 2017.

It's always refreshing when a home-grown title trumps all the others and tops the list, as Mike McCormack's Solar Bones did last year for me. I recommend it strongly because, irrespective of genre, it stood head and shoulders above the others, not least for the originality of its central character's voice and perspective and for the writer's uncanny skill of making civil-engineering sound so interesting ... but for much more besides!

My silver medal goes to a book entitled Wounded, by Percival Everett, the last book I read in 2017 (published in 2008). With the brilliant portrayal of the central character and his ambivalence in matters of the heart and the story's ruthless denouement standing out as highlights, I reckon you could do a lot worse than have a browse.

Ditto for the next six or seven titles, each of which were fully in command of their respective subjects and left me pondering such diverse issues as family dysfunctionality, global economics, African American history, digital technology, criminal impersonation and the gritty realism of the 1970s.

As we move towards the back end of the pile, (the good aul yarn section) I recommend the final half dozen for doing well what all books need to do well and that's keep you interested til the last page.

My love of Georges Simenon should also be obvious to you all by now!

More soon ...

All worth a browse, each for its own reasons!