In Ep. 194, Catherine (@GilmoreGuide) and Sarah head back to the year 2017 in the book world with this second annual special retrospective episode! They share big bookish highlights for that year, including book news, award winners, and what was going on in the world outside of reading. They also talk about how their own 2017 reading shook out, including their favorite 2017 releases. Plus, a quick run-down of listener-submitted favorites! This episode is overflowing with great backlist titles to add to your TBR!
This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).
Highlights
- The big news that was going on outside the book world.
- The book stories and trends that dominated 2017.
- How similar 2017 and 2025 are.
- The 2017 books that have had staying power.
- Was this as dismal a year in books as Sarah remembers?
- Sarah’s and Catherine’s personal 2017 reading stats.
- Listener-submitted favorites from 2017.
Bookish Time Capsule (2017) [2:12]
The World Beyond Books
- No books mentioned in this segment.
The Book Industry
- Wonder by R. J. Palacio (2012) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [9:59]
- Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur (2015) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [10:04]
- A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [10:40]
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [10:44]
- Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [12:08]
- My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [12:18]
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [13:03]
- If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [13:13]
- We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [13:23]
- Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [13:46]
- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [13:48]
- The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [13:50]
- Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [14:57]
- Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [15:03]
- James by Percival Everett (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [15:04]
Bookish Headlines and Trends
- Becoming by Michelle Obama (2018) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [20:41]
- A Promised Land by Barack Obama (2020) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [20:43]
- The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama (2006) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [20:48]
- My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (2011) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [23:04]
- The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowring (2023) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [23:31]
Big Books and Award Winners of 2017
- A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (2012) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:01]
- Beartown by Fredrik Backman (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:06]
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:21]
- Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:27]
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:48]
- Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (2022) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [28:09]
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [28:39]
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [29:23]
- Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng (2014) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [29:40]
- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:31]
- Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (2008) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [32:09]
- Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [32:51]
- Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [33:16]
- Normal People by Sally Rooney (2018) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [33:41]
- Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [34:32]
- Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward (2011) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [34:38]
- Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:09]
- The Sellout by Paul Beatty (2015) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:52]
- What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [36:56]
- Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [37:21]
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [37:45]
- Before the Fall by Noah Hawley (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [38:04]
- The Stone Sky (The Broken Earth, 3) by N. K. Jemisin (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [38:30]
Our Top Books of 2017
- The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [40:46]
- Beartown by Fredrik Backman (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [41:20]
- Dead Letters by Caite Dolan-Leach (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [41:22]
- Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:02]
- If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:16]
- Quicksand by Malin Persson Giolitio (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:23]
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:36]
- This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:38]
- Trophy Son by Douglas Brunt (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:48]
- White Fur by Jardine Libaire (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [43:05]
- Final Girls by Riley Sager (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [46:38]
- Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [46:44]
- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [46:46]
- Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [46:49]
- The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:10]
- Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman (1995) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:15]
- Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:19]
- The Heirs by Susan Rieger (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:34]
- The Takedown by Corrie Wang (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:53]
- Feast of Sorrow by Crystal King (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [48:01]
- Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [48:09]
- Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng (2014) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [48:17]
- Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [48:28]
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [48:33]
Listeners’ Top Books of 2017
- Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [49:33]
- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [49:51]
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [50:03]
- The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [50:07]
- Beartown by Fredrik Backman (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [50:13]
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [50:15]
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [50:18]
- The Alice Network by Kate Quinn (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [50:24]
- This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [50:25]
- Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong (2017) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [50:27]
About Catherine Gilmore
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Catherine started The Gilmore Guide to Books over 10 years ago after wrapping up a career as a corporate librarian. She loves books and reading (surprise!) and currently lives in Seattle, WA.
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In two weeks (May 15), Susie and Sarah will return for the 2025 Summer Reading Special!
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What books were your favorites from 2017?
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