Librarians share annual best book titles for a variety of readers’ interests
King County Library System (KCLS), one of the largest library systems in the country, released its selections for the Best Books of 2017. The annual list includes KCLS’ top 25 titles each under four categories: adult fiction, adult nonfiction, teens and children’s.
Best Book Lists are selected by nominations from King County Library System librarians and staff members who, collectively, read and download hundreds of books each year. Once nominations are made, KCLS Reader’s Services Specialist, Emily Calkins, reviews all titles before final selections are made by a team of adult, teen and children’s librarians.
“It’s a tough choice to make! So many great books come out each year, and our staff are passionate about the books they read and recommend,” said Calkins. “We’ve come up with four wonderful lists, and we think any reader will find something to love on them.”
Following are King County Library System’s Best Books of 2017:
Best Adult Fiction Books 2017: (in order of author’s last name)
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
American War by Omar El Akkad
My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris
This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
Difficult Women by Roxane Gay
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
The Dry by Jan Harper
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
The Leavers by Lisa Ko
Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane
The Bad Luck Bride by Janna MacGregor
The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Mrs. Fletcher by Tom Perrotta
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy
Idaho by Emily Ruskovich
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Anything Is Possible by Elizabeth Strout
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan
Borne by Jeff VanderMeer
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
Best Adult Nonfiction Books 2017: (in order of author’s last name)
You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie
American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West by Nate Blakeslee
Nomadland by Jessica Bruder
The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-nehisi Coates
The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel
Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America by James Jr. Forman
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
Ghost of Seattle Past by Jaimee Garbacik
Hunger by Roxane Gay
Killers of the Flower Moon: the Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children’s Literature as An Adult by Bruce Handy
We Are Never Meeting In Real Life by Samantha Irby
No Is Not Enough: Resisting Trump’s Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need by Naomi Klein
Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? by Alyssa Mastromonaco
Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore
Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II by Liza Mundy
Playing with Fire: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics by Lawrence O’Donnell
The Photo Ark: One Man’s Quest to Document the World’s Animals by Joel Satore
Daring to Drive: a Saudi Woman’s Awakening by Manal Sharif
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson
The Blood of Emmett Till by Timothy B. Tyson
Make Trouble by John Waters
Why We March: Signs of Protest and Hope: Voices From the Women’s March
The Card Catalog: Books, Cards and Literary Treasures
Best Teen Books 2017: (in order of author’s last name)
The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
City of Saints & Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson
Crack in the Sea by H.M. Bouwman
Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani
The Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moira Fowley Doyle
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman
Here We Are: 44 Voices Write, Draw, and Speak About Feminism for the Real World edited by Kelly Jensen
Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan
We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart
One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy
Loving Vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case by Patricia Hruby Powell
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez
Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team by Steve Sheinkin
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Thick as Thieves by Megan Whelan Turner
Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson
American Street by Ibi Zoboi
Best Children’s Books 2017: (in order of author’s last name)
Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets by Kwame Alexander
Wishtree by Katherine Applegate
Grand Canyon by Jason Chin
She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World by Chelsea Clinton
Big Cat, Little Cat by Elisha Cooper
Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell
Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors by Drew Daywalt
Star Crossed by Barbara Dee
The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet! by Carmen Agra Deedy
Windows by Julia Denos
Moto and Me by Suzi Eszterhas
When’s My Birthday by Julie Fogliano
Scar Island by Dan Gemeinhart
Real Friends by Shannon Hale
The Good for NOTHING Button! by Charise Mericle Harper
Egg by Kevin Henkes
All’s Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jackson
Shark Lady by Jess Keating
Lost and Found Cat: the True Story of Kunkush’s Incredible Journey by Doug Kuntz
Train I Ride by Paul Mosier
A Different Pond by Bao Phi
Three Billy Goats Gruff by Jerry Pinkey
Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder
Clayton Byrd Goes Underground by Rita Williams-Garcia
Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk
