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Best books and movies of 2017: what were yours?

List one, list three, list five – I don’t care.

I read so many works in progress from other authors that I don’t actually read very many books during the year. So maybe I can read some of the ones you guys think were pretty good.

I read Lucy Brazier, though! The PorterGirl series is amazing.

But I want some good recommendations from you on a handful of books that you think you’ll still be thinking about years from now.

Movies, too. I do have time for movies!

What were your favorites of 2017?

33 replies on “Best books and movies of 2017: what were yours?”

Due to an unusually heavy writing workload on 2017, I’ve only read two books in that year – The Brentford Triangle by Robert Rankin and The Bluffers Guide To Opera. Both were very entertaining in their own way. I saw one new film – Ladybird – and thought it was rubbish. So, back to writing stuff, for me!

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Yes, a chap I was dating at the time. But I dumped him. And actually didn’t get around to reading the book until after we broke up! It make me like opera even less than I did before. Although I still have a thing for that conductor with the amazing hair and forearms.

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I knew a guy once who liked my forearms. I didn’t think the forearm thing was a big thing, until I mentioned it on my blog (and the last book, I believe) then I was contacted by lots of women who also share this passion. So bring your lovely forearms to the UK – the ladies will be on you like a tramp on chips! (A charming UK expression that should perhaps be translated to a tramp on fries for a US audience.)

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So while we were raiding pints all over Cambridge, that was just a ruse to see me flex my forearms? And when you asked me to hold your phone when we were doing Facebook live because I had longer arms – all a ploy for forearm displays?

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By Post Author

Books in 2017, I enjoyed The Romeo Catchers by Alys Arden (the sequel to The Casquette Girls), The Binding by Victoria Clapton, Laura Cayouette’s The Secret of the Other Mother, My Soul to Give by Magali Frechette, In The Middle by Jen Henderson, and Nine Lives, The Story of Life and Death in New Orleans by Dan Baum.

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Lots of vampires and New Orleans in that list. 🙂 Okay, all vamps and NOLA 🙂

I love them all for different reasons, but Alys Arden’s The Casquette Girls and The Romeo Catchers is fabulous NOLA series (third book is on the way) with a lot of contemporary places that you may recognize or can visit next time you’re there. It’s YA, but sophisticated with witchy and voodoo elements.
The author is pretty fun and fan friendly too! 🙂

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I’m not sure my best books are up your alley. I read a lot of non fiction.
Frozen in Time by Mitchell Zuckoff – spell binding. But I love Zuckoff’s book in general.
All Quiet on the Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque. Nothing like rereading a classic to remind you why it’s a classic.
Frindle – Andrew Clements, read it with your daughter and try not to cry. I failed.
Limiting myself to 3 was excruciating.

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A is for Arsenic – Kathryn Markup total geek paradise.
Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library – Chris Grabenstein – all about books, makes kids want to read more books.
The Martian – Andy Weir
The Demon in the Freezer – Richard Preston
Big Little Lies – Liane Moriarty
Elly Griffiths, both series The Zig Zag Girl and Crossing Places

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The Sanctification of Peter Kane byTroy Stoops – Wow! This book made me think. Is this author able to see into the future? Afterall, the book was published in 2013. As I said, thought-provoking. Truth is stronger and stranger than any fiction we can imagine. That is except for Troy Stroops. This book that is not only current to today’s climate but a great read. With each turn of the page, I was amazed at the author’s ability to weave a story from several different directions. I couldn’t put the book down and read in two days. I hope there is a follow-up book. Five well-earned stars!

I Am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll – Oh my! Few books bring me to tears, as did I Am Watching You. As I read the last few pages tears filled my eyes and compassion rolled over me for the characters. Ms. Driscoll has a unique writing style as the story unfolds from several characters, each one comes alive. And I didn’t guess the guilty party, until the big reveal.
The author shows us, how crime touches more people than we can ever imagine, leaving them forever changed. 5 stars!

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, – You wanted to know a book that is never far from my thoughts, well this is it! The characters and story haunt me. I must’ve been the only woman who missed reading this when it first came out. I’m so glad I finally got around to reading it. The writing is amazing but that’s to be expected from an author like Margaret Atwood. As so many have found, the subject is relevant to our political climate. But I think the story is more telling about how a society can allow itself to become ruled by mob mentality. Go along with the bullies. Like a frog boiled slowly, people never see death coming. A lot to think about in this book.

Kill Someone by Luke Smitherd – This story grabbed me and didn’t let go. A horrific tale of a young man, Chris, given two choices. In this unique storyline, he must choose between the devil and the deep blue sea. Even after deciding, Chris must find a way to live with his decision. Mr. Smithered is an excellent storyteller. Steven King move over there is a new master of suspense, horror who knows how to give the reader nightmares.

Okay, that’s it for me. Enjoy LOL

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The hubby got me Brandon Sanderson’s “Warbreaker” – a good, one shot fantasy novel in a pretty unique world, with some great twists. I also picked up Laurie Halse Anderson’s “Chains”- American Revolutionary War Young adult historical fiction, from a slave’s perspective. It was fascinating, and a great read without being depressing (though I did cry like a baby halfway through. The rest of the series was good too, but I thought the first was the strongest.) Oh, and I grabbed an e-book from another blogger, Sarah Higbee’s “Running out of Space.” Sci-fi, and I think she did a pretty fantastic job of world building, especially with the character’s dialects.
Movies: the only RECENT things I’ve seen that I liked were Dunkirk and Wonder Woman- history, and superheroines IN history. Good times 🙂

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Most the books I read in 2017 were for research. I’m glad this baby is almost pushed out! If you include paleo Hebrew, the Talmud, Dante’s inferno and historical literature interesting, let me know and I’ll send you a copy of my next release. But seriously, everything you ever wanted to know about death and the afterlife are in this bad boy. So during breaks from heaviness, I read authors like Jerry Spinelli and Roald Dahl.

A recent movie I enjoyed was based off a novel. It’s a newer Netflix original movie. “Mudbound.” Gritty and suspenseful.

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What do YOU think? Let me hear from ya.