In one of the reading focused book club groups on Facebook, a few people were contemplating setting their new year reading goals to be pages read instead of book count.

I also read some especially long books this year, several over 400 pages: Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante (418 pages), IT by Stephen King (1,116 pages), The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne (582 pages), Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (496 pages), A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (462 pages), Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (477 pages), Tools of Titans by Tim Ferris (707 pages). The types of books that when you’re finished with them, you think to yourself, “I want to read more stuff like THAT.” Not in content, but in caliber.

It’s true that I had a small slump in the spring where I didn’t read much or read things that I didn’t love, but I kicked it up a notch and now that I look back on the whole of 2017, I can see that I read some truly phenomenal things. Mid-way through the year I became a little disappointed with what I’d been reading. I hit that goal in 2017, but it was a little uneven. On average, my goal is to read about 1 book a week, or roughly 50 - 55 books a year.

If you'd like to listen to a more in-depth discussion about these selections, I talk about a lot of these books in the latest Smartest Person in the Room Episode #28: Best of Books & Reading 2017.Įnd of the year lists are the best, I love keeping a record of the best things about a season, and my year-end book lists are my favorite to compile. This list originally appeared in the Secret Posts in December 2017.

Fiction best books to read 2017