Review of the Best Books Read in 2017

Well, I guess I’m making it a tradition. Last year in January I wrote up a post called “Review of the Best Books Read in 2016 (With Pictures),” so I decided to do the same thing this year…just without my own pictures this time, because most of my books are still packed (a terrible thing as the second Kingkiller Chronicle is resting underneath cardboard box and packaging tape in all its unread beauty and it’s agonizing).

Star Wars Psychology: Dark Side of the Mind

by Travis Langley

The first book read in 2017, it satisfied both the psychology fanatic and Star Wars nerd side of me. I met the editor, Doctor Travis Langley, at Stan Lee’s Comic Con in LA and I was stoked when I saw Star Wars Psychology. The book itself is amazing. I got to delve deeper into the arcs, differences, and functions of each main character and the role they play in the universe of Star Wars, as well as the role the film score plays in the movie and in the mind. I honestly think this book would be a great science course in education for those Star Wars fans of little attention span. In fact, I think it deserves a re-read now that I’ve just finished a course in Psychology 101.

If you want to read my full review of it, check out my post on Constant Collectible here!

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay

by J. K. Rowling

I basically just read the movie. Since the movie was good, then, needless to say, so was the script! I mean, it’s J. K. Rowling, and it’s in the wizarding world, so what could go wrong? I also learned some new things and recognized a few details reading the screenplay that I didn’t catch from the movie, such as Queenie being able to read minds (if that was supposed to be obvious in the movie, I officially feel dumb, haha!). If you haven’t seen the movie, I highly recommend it. Just don’t read the script before you see the movie.

Your Name, Vol. 1

by Makoto Shinkai

This is the manga from the anime movie Your Name. The story is so beautiful: put time travelling with romance and Japanese culture and you get Your Name. The plot and characters are so complex (did I mention there’s time travel involved?) in the anime that it gets a little confusing. This first volume of the manga covers only about one fourth of the story in the movie, but the artwork is beautiful and the story is easier to follow when you read a graphic novel at your own pace.

Unsanctioned Eyes (The Dragonfly, #1)

by Brianna Merritt

This is one of the first indie published books I’ve read, and I was blown away with the writing style and masterfully told story of the main character, an ex-sniper and assassin whose past and the appearance of an innocent fugitive who she was meant to kill is starting to make her question her life and see things from a different perspective. You can see it as a contemporary action thriller, but there are great themes and character arcs buried in the pages.

The Beast of Talesend (Beaumont and Beasley, #1)

by Kyle Robert Shultz

This, my friends, is a brand new fandom of mine. I loved how a lot of the traditional fairy tales came into play to set up the story and the plot, which is hilarious, reading about how these fairy tales actually happened. The dialog and humor were pretty much my two favorite things about this book, as well as the excellent worldbuilding and intriguing characters.

William Shakespeare’s The Empire Striketh Back

by Ian Doescher

“I tell thee, droid, assail me not with odds.” -Shakespearean Han Solo

I am not a Shakespeare fan; the only play I read was Hamlet, and I was constantly clueless. But since this is Star Wars, this obviously has exceptions. It’s very accurate to the movie, of course. Reading this, I was actually able to enjoy the character arcs of Lando, Luke, and Han Solo, as well as little plot points that I missed by simply watching the movie. Motives were made more clear. Thoughts helped to portray characters more. And it was all very amusing, of course, because everyone talked Elizabethan style. The love scenes with Han and Leia were awesome. Yoda’s dialog was in haiku, which was a cherry on top. Highly recommend!

The Tangle

by Aria Maher

This book is unique in that it takes place in only one, small setting with allegorical characters, a symbolic storyline, and enough supernatural suspense to last you into your second lifetime. This was my first experience with paranormal literature and I enjoyed every bit of it. It was unlike any other book I’ve read. I relished the weirdness, the authentic descriptions, the grisly darkness, and how real the characters were. But I think my favorite thing about this story was how the whole thing was a metaphor. The whole plot seemed to symbolize something. And even though it took me a while for that fact to click with me, I enjoyed each chapter and each scene. Highly recommend! If you want the full review, head over here, and check it out on Amazon too, while you’re at it!

Words of Radiance

by Brandon Sanderson

This was my last read of 2017, started in July to end in December. At 1200 pages, it is the sequel to The Way of Kings, in the “Stormlight Archive,” a fantasy series of readable bricks by Brandon Sanderson. Because yes, the books are literally cube chunks, if you have the same paperback edition I do. Anyhow, I loved how the characters and the plot were the same as in the first one, but were more developed and interesting. Seeing main characters meet and interact with each other is one of my favorite things in this series. Of course, the only problem I had was that it was far too long to the point of it being intimidating to start the first page and there were parts that were pretty slow. But over all, it was a fascinating, enjoyable read. The worldbuilding is one of my favorite things about this series.

And there are my favorite books from the past year. Have you read any of these? What are some of your favorite books you read from 2017? I only ask because my TBR hasn’t toppled over yet and I could fit a few more books at the top. Cheers and have a lovely week!

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