2017 Year in Review Book Tag

Here’s an interesting book tag created by booktuber Farah of A Booktube Book. She created a similar tag last year where she reviewed the major headlines of 2016 and use them to create book-related questions. The tag below is based on events that took place in 2017.

Note: I didn’t limit the books to just those I read in 2017 but most of them are.

First ever female Doctor Who: Favorite female protagonist

Velvet

The first answer to come to me was Velvet, the titular character in an espionage comic book series written by Ed Brubaker and illustrated by Steve Epting. Velvet works as a secretary at a covert agency, but only few know that she’s actually a spy. The story takes off when she’s framed for a colleague’s death.

GCC Cuts Ties with Qatar: An author you cut ties with

H. Rider Haggard

I didn’t like She, an adventure classic novel about two men who travel to Zanzibar to find an African race that’s ruled by a White sorceress, and I doubt I’ll ever read another Haggard novel.

La La Land Oscar Mix-Up: A book that surprised you

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

I didn’t expect a novel about and set in surburbia would captivate me as much as Ng’s novel did.

(Btw, that Oscar mix-up really pissed me off. It was distasteful. It almost made it seem as if Moonlight didn’t deserve its win.)

Hurricanes and Earthquakes: A book that rocked your world

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

A historical fiction novel that traces the experiences of Black folk over a number of years. It’s such a great book and one of my favorite reads of 2017.

Louvre Abu Dhabi: Favorite book cover art

Above the Timberline by Gregory Manchess (illus.)

Described as “a painted novel,” this is about a young man who traverses the icy wilderness of his world in search of his father, who’s an explorer. This was surprisingly good, both the story and artwork.

Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi sells for $450m: A TAKE-MY-MONEY book

Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise by Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, and Gene Luen Yang, illus. by Gurihiru

I want this book! I want to collect all the Avatar: The Last Airbender comics in these hardback library editions because they contain commentary from the creators in the margins.

Total Eclipse: A sequel that overshadows the first book

Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb

To me, the Liveship Traders trilogy, of which this book is the third, gets better as it goes along; or rather, the writing becomes more tolerable and so do the characters.

Muslim ban: Favorite diverse read

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

I didn’t expect to like this novella as much as I did, but it’s one of few supernatural/fantasy novels I’ve read that’s written by an author of color and has a main character who is a person of color and who not only subverts the influence of White men in the story, but leaves them shaking in their boots. (Haha!)

Italy doesn’t qualify for World Cup: Most disappointing book

Archie, Vol. 1: The New Riverdale by Mark Waid, illus. by Fiona Staples, Annie Wu, and Veronica Fish

I really thought I’d love this one, but it was so boring.

Prince Harry engaged: Favorite ship

Umm…I don’t want to spoil it.

…but it involves Althea. 🙂

Star Wars the Last Jedi: Most anticipated book

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Just about all the fantasy novels I read calls back to either Greek/Roman or Nordic mythology, so I’m looking forward to this book because it’s based in West African mythology and religion. (See this Shelf Awareness article to read an interview with the author.)

That was a pretty cool tag!

I tag whomever wants to do it.

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