2017 Best Books　Like this list

10 items

• All the Crooked Saints

  Stiefvater, Maggie, 1981-

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  Maggie Stiefvater is pretty much a legend among my friends. She's smart, cool, and can she ever WRITE. This book takes you to the American desert and a strange family with the power to perform miracles.

• Station Eleven

  Mandel, Emily St. John, 1979-

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  This one was a recommendation! Check out the "staff picks" shelf if your library has one - heaps of goodies. Station Eleven imagines America after a devastating influenza destroys 99.9% of the population. While I imagine that in real life, I'd…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• SPQR

  a History of Ancient Rome

  Beard, Mary, 1955-

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  This has been on my TBR since before it came out and I finally grabbed it this year. Mary Beard is an academic legend and her history of ancient Rome is broad enough to entertain the casual classicist with enough juicy details to satisfy those who…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Pretty Iconic

  a Personal Look at the Beauty Products That Changed the World

  Hughes, Sali, 1975-

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  I daydream about being best friends with beauty editors. Sali Hughes is a British journalist who knows everything there is to know about cosmetics and skincare in the UK. I want to go shopping with her.

• The Penguin History of New Zealand

  King, Michael, 1945-2004

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  Like many NZ households, this book has sat on my bookshelf for years - unread. When bronchitis forced me home for a week, I grabbed it and do you know what? It's damn good. It's lively and well-paced, and I learned something new in every chapter.

• Stay With Me

  Adebayo, Ayobami, 1988-

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  Okay let's get into Nigeria. This book took so many twists and turns, you never knew how much you could trust the narrator. While the scene with the ritual up the mountain with the goat stays most vivid in my mind (you have to read it) this book…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Akata Witch

  Okorafor, Nnedi, 1974-

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  If you're keen for books about magic but you're a bit sick of the Euro-centric point of view, give this one a go. The main character is a black girl of Nigerian descent born in America but who has moved back to Nigeria. She's also albino, which…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Under the Udala Trees

  Okparanta, Chinelo

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  This one is heart breaking. Honestly, Romeo and Juliet's star-crossed love was nothing compared to the struggles Ijeoma faced.

• The Spider King's Daughter

  Onuzo, Chibundu

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  Dual narration is a key component of this book - one side of the story is told by a poor street hawker, the other side is told by a wealthy girl. They fall in love (or do they?) and the story culminates in a stunning climax.

• Half of a Yellow Sun

  Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi, 1977-

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  Three very different but connected narrators tell their stories of the Biafran (or Nigerian Civil) War in the 1960s. To be honest, I struggled with which book by this author to put on the list, but since the civil war is such a huge part of every…Read moreRead more of this annotation