My Top 10 Books of 2017

Below is a list of the best books that I read in 2017.  Note that they may not have been published in 2017 but were my favorite reads of the year.

10.  The Empress of Bright Moon by Weina Dai Randel; historical fiction

9.  Butcher Bird by S. D. Sykes; historical fiction

8.  Shelter by Jung Yun; family saga

7.  Pachinko by Min Jin Lee; family saga, historical fiction

6.  A Game for Swallows by Zeina Abirached; graphic memoir, graphic novel

5.  I Remember Beirut by Zeina Abirached; graphic memoir, graphic novel

4.  Rolling Blackouts Dispatches From Turkey, Syria and Iraq by Sarah Glidden; reportage comic, graphic novel

3. Coffin Road by Peter May; mystery

2.  Dead Cold Brew by Cleo Coyle; cozy mystery

1.  The Scribe of Siena by Melodie Winawer; historical fiction

2018 Creativity Reading Challenge

This challenge was cancelled in 2017 but a new person is taking over the challenge next year.  I am going to sign up again.  You can read books on creativity, art, crafts, writing, film making, photography, DIY, cooking, music and any other topic that helps you live a more creative life.  The challenge runs the 2018 calendar year and there are no requirements concerning the number of books that you need to read.  You can include traditional books, ebooks or audiobooks.  I think that I might be looking to buy a few new cookbooks next year so that may be where I will concentrate my creativity.  While I do several types of arts and crafts, I tend to buy DVDs instead of books these days on those types of things.  

11th Annual Manga/Graphic Novel Reading Challenge

This reading challenge was my favorite for 2017 so I am rejoining next year.  However, since I read many more graphic novels than required this year, I am going to sign up at the Bronze Age level.  The Bronze Age requires that I read at least 24 books.  In 2018 the link-ups to reviews will be in a Facebook closed group so if you are interested in this challenge you must join the Facebook group and post a link at least once a month in order to remain active.  

2018 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

I am going to join this challenge again next year.  It runs from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018.  Since I read much more historical fiction this year than expected I am going to go out on a limb and sign up for the Ancient History category.  Ancient History requires that 25 books be read.  Let's see if I can make it.

Wrap-Up of the 10th Annual Manga/Graphic Novel Reading Challenge

I signed up for this challenge at the Modern Age level agreeing to read 12 books for the challenge.  By the end of the year I ended up reading 31 books for the challenge!  My reviews are shown below:

Beardo:  The Art Degree Guarantee
Exit Wounds
The Undertaking of Lily Chen
Rolling Blackouts:  Dispatches From Turkey, Syria and Iraq
The Arab of the Future
Hostage
Insomnia Cafe

Wizzywig
2 Sisters
The Big Kahn
California Dreaming:  Cass Elliott Before the Mamas and the Papas
The Best We Could Do
Patience
Sam Zabel and the Big Pen
Soldier's Heart
A Game for Swallows
How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less
Weapons of Mass Diplomacy
The Arab of the Future 2
I Remember Beirut
Dare to Disappoint:  Growing up in Turkey
The Customer is Always Wrong
Lennon: The New York Years
Soviet Daughter
Threads From the Refugee Crisis
Killing and Dying
Safe Area Gorazde
Nanjing:  The Burning City
Red Rosa
The Attack
Girl in Dior

My favorite book:  Rolling Blackouts:  Dispatches From Turkey, Syria and Iraq.  I loved this new book from Sarah Glidden and her new graphic novel sub-genre, reportage comics.  I also need to give a shout-out to Zeina Abirached for her I Remember Beirut and A Game for Swallows.  Both of these books affected me deeply and I probably remember them the most along with Rolling Blackouts.  Dan Dougherty's Beardo series is one of my favorites too. 

My least favorite book:  Nanjing:  The Burning City.  There was no story written in the book and it was hard to follow the drawings.  

Wrap-Up of My Kind of Mystery 2017 Reading Challenge

I read 18 books for this challenge which had no required number of books for participants to read. I think that not having a reading goal was freeing for me and resulted in me reading more mysteries than if I was actively searching for mysteries.  The links to the reviews of the books that I read are below:

The Champagne Conspiracy
Coffin Road
The Seventh Plague
The Killing Ship
A Change of Heart
The Black Widow
The Lost Order
Runaway
The Obsidian Chamber
The Last Painting of Sara de Vos
Mercy
The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown
The Prisoner
Use of Force
By Any Means

My favorite book:  Coffin Road.  You can't beat a Peter May mystery.

My least favorite book:  The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown.  Boring!

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2017 Wrap-Up

I signed up for this challenge at the Renaissance Reader level wherein I agreed to read 10 books.  However, I actually read 19 books for the challenge!  Links to the reviews are as follows:

The Deadliest Sin
The Shogun's Daughter
Jade Dragon Mountain
The Tapestry
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
Midnight in St. Petersburg
The Scribe of Siena
The Tea Planter's Wife
The River of Kings
Valley of the Kings
The Butcher Bird
Plague Land
Pachinko
The Last Jew
The Vatican Princess
Dragon Springs Road
The Confessions of a Young Nero
The Empress of Bright Moon
The Moon in the Palace

My favorite book:  The Scribe of Siena.  This was a hard choice because I loved many of the books in this challenge.  However, this book was not only my favorite book of the challenge but my favorite book of the year.

My least favorite book:  The Valley of Kings.