Following, are the books I read (in order) in 2017; if I recommend it, it has an asterisk in front of it.

1. The Versions Of Us – Laura Barnett
2. *The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo – Amy Schumer
3. *Eligible – Curtis Sittenfeld
4. Today Will Be Different – Maria Semple
5. *You – Caroline Kepness
6. *Modern Lovers – Emma Straub
7. The Enchanted Life Of Adam Hope – Rhonda Riley
8. Difficult Women – Roxane Gay
9. *Commonwealth – Ann Patchett
10. The Regulars – Georgia Clark
11. Sting – Sandra Brown
12. *The Arrangement – Mary Balough
13. *Hillbilly Elegy – J.D. Vance
14. *Natural Born Charmer – Susan Elizabeth Phillips
15. *Exit West – Mohsin Hamid
16. *The Trouble With Mistletoe – Jill Shalvis
17. *Marrying Winterborne – Lisa Kleypas
18. *Devil in Spring – Lisa Kleypas
19. Maestra – L.S. Hilton
20. My Name Is Lucy Barton – Elizabeth Strout
21. *Talking As Fast As I Can – Lauren Graham
22. The People We Hate At The Wedding – Greg Ginder
23. The Light We Lost – Jill Santopolo
24. *The Hopefuls – Jennifer Close
25. *Anything Is Possible – Elizabeth Strout
26. The Woman In Cabin 10 – Ruth Ware
27. The Assistants – Camille Perri
28. *The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
29. *Less – Andrew Sean Greer
30. *Little Fires Everywhere – Celeste Ng
31. *Young Jane Young – Gabrielle Zevin
32. *The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry – Gabrielle Zevin
33. Mrs. Fletcher – Tom Perotta
34. *Bonfire – Krysten Ritter
35. *Sing, Unburied, Sing – Jesmyn Ward
36. *Stay With Me – Ayobami Adebayo

My top 5 from this list are (click on the link for more details):

1. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry  It came out in 2014 but I hadn’t read it. If you read a lot, you will LOVE this book. Even if you don’t, I’m not sure how you couldn’t like it. I found it reminiscent of A Man Called Ove in that the lead character is quirky but, ultimately, loveable. A joy to read.
2. Eligible  I told everyone to read this book – it’s just so fun! A modern Pride & Prejudice with a little “Bachelor” thrown in.
3. Anything Is Possible  I wrote about this in my last blog so I won’t repeat myself. I’ll just say it’s more like a short story collection where in all the characters are from the same town. Beautifully written.
4. Marrying Winterborne  It’s romance, I know it’s not for all of you but it’s my list and I love Kleypas’s books.
5. You  Creeeeeeeeeeepy

TV

I suggest, if you haven’t already, you read The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. I had not read it and was thrilled when my book club chose it. One of our members is a former teacher (Hi Karen K!) who LOVED this book and taught it often. She helped break it down for us and pulled out the intricacies. I liked the book though I did find it hard to get through at times which was the point of the writing style, I believe. If you’re NOT going to read it, PLEASE watch the television series on Hulu. It is phenomenal. I blitzed through it in 2 days and I never do that. The acting is terrific and the story is terrifying and seems all too possibly possible.

My favorite new show, which, as per usual, will probably get canceled, is “Kevin Probably Saves The World.” I love Jason Ritter in it and I find it heartwarming and sweet.

I also like “The Good Doctor” but I’m not alone as it’s the #1 new show this year.

“Outlander” kind of lost me in season 2 but has brought me way back with season 3.

One of my most favorite shows (I tape it every week) is “Sunday Morning on CBS.” In this time of in-your-face news and constant horrifying revelations, it offers stories of hope and mostly goodwill. I encourage my whole family to watch with me because there’s something for everyone. It always concludes with a video of calming nature somewhere to remind us the beauty that is out there; we should appreciate it.

Movies

I’m not going to list all the movies I saw this past year but I will list my top 5:

1. La La Land (saw it in Feb)
2. Baby Driver
3. Wonder Woman
4. Coco
5. (tie) Spider Man – Homecoming and John Wick 2

I know this is a 2017 summary but I just saw Lady Bird and Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle and highly recommend both, especially Jumanji – great for the whole family (over 10 yrs old probably).

Song of the Blog

We lost a lot of incredibly talented people last year.   One of the ones who hit me the hardest was Tom Petty. I think he had a lot more rock ‘n roll left in him. “Breakdown” (click on it to listen) is one of my all-time favorite songs.  It takes me right back to hanging in the basement with my cousins and playing their pinball machine; a much simpler time.

Happy New Year all, thanks so much for reading.