Organising Queen’s best books of 2017

I finished off the year with 120 books read, 40 non-fiction (my highest non-fiction numbers ever!) and 80 fiction.

May all things in life be as neat 🙂

It was a really great reading year and I’ll tell you later this month how I vastly exceeded my reading goal for the year (167% of the goal).

But for now, I want to tell you about the best fiction and non-fiction I read in 2017.

Let’s start with non-fiction:

1. The Four Tendencies – Gretchen Rubin

The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People's Lives Better, Too) by [Rubin, Gretchen]

I wrote a bit about it here as it relates to me, an upholder. I’m telling you, upholder tightening is a real thing and I’m thrilled I now have the language to explain the things I do.

No matter your tendency, get this book. It is fabulous. You will learn about yourself and your family. My second biggest reason for loving it so much is understanding my kids better. (Dion and I are both upholders, but one of us leans to Questioner and the other to Obliger)

PS Her previous book, Better than Before, is on sale at the moment. I bought myself another copy because I bought the audible version the first time around.

2. Your Move – the underdog’s guide to building your business – Ramit Sethi

Your Move: The Underdog's Guide to Building Your Business by [Sethi, Ramit]

I love Ramit’s work and I really enjoyed this no-frills book on business.

His blog inspired this post of mine – 3 things I do to help my productivity.

PS you can see all my reviews on my Goodreads profile.

3. Born a Crime: And other stories – Trevor Noah

Born A Crime: And Other Stories by [Noah, Trevor]

Trevor Noah is South African but all I really knew about him (I’m not up to date with pop culture, as you know) was his TV ads for a cell phone provider.

This book was fascinating in all kinds of ways even to me, a South African.

I was educated, entertained, challenged and delighted by his narration of this book. Do yourself a favour and get it. If you’re concerned as I was that this would be too political, it’s not. It does challenge your thinking though.

Honorable mentions: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (one of my favourites ever but it already made my 2015 list!) and Reading People (Anne Bogel)

And now for the fiction:

  1. Truly Madly Guilty – Liane Moriarty

Product Details

This is the same author who wrote Big Little Lies. I love all her work but I truly was delighted with this one because I loved the characters. I loved it so much I’m planning to re-read it this year, this time on Audible 🙂

2. Every Last One – Anna Quindlen

Every Last One by [Quindlen, Anna]

Oh my gosh, this was such a beautiful book. My first by this author. Such detail to relationships and insights about people – just beautifully written in every way.

This year I read my first book by authors seemingly everyone has read – Anna Quindlen, Anne Tyler (Digging to America) and Maggie O’Farrell

I do want to say I abandoned 5 books this year which is AWESOME for me. This year I want to abandon them quicker.

3. A window opens – Elisabeth Egan

A Window Opens: A Novel by [Egan, Elisabeth]

Another new-to-me author and I loved this book. It was a book about normal life for married women with children and I can’t tell you what exactly I loved but just everything. I could not put it down.

Get it – you’ll be delighted.

Please share your top fiction and non-fiction reads with me.

And feel free to recommend books to me too in the women’s fiction, psychological thriller and memoir range. I’m also looking for a good memoir/ project book like this one.

PS Confession – while putting together this list and searching for links online, I actually bought 5 new books (!)

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Comments

  1. Terisha says

    While I didn’t read as many books as I usually do, I do think I read a quite a number of really great books. Some favorites were of course Small Great Things, Winter Garden, The Nightingale, Firefly Lane, The Good Mother and the Year of Living Danishly, to name a few. Born a Crime and The Four Tendancies are on my reading list for 2018. I want to read at least 5 non-fiction books this year. I started by reading one business book so far. I have completed 6 books for this year and it is only the 10thJanuary!!!!

    • What?! That’s awesome. You’re making up for lost time. I’m going to write a post with Dion’s tips to read a lot in a year but one of them is to use holiday time well.

  2. Kirstin says

    I have ‘Born a Crime’ on my reading list. Gretchen Rubin’s book also sounds interesting. I read quite a few books by West African authors and I really loved them.

    • Marcia Francois says

      Please let me know what you think of it, when you’re done. I just re-read Gretchen’s The Happiness Project and liked it even more this time around. I actually think the beginning of the year is the perfect time for a re-listen every year 🙂

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