1
The Circle by Dave Eggers (2013) – a novel of surprise, raising questions about money, history, privacy, democracy and the limits of human knowledge.
2017 · Annual selections
Books of the Year 2017
Dear All,
One of my favourite bits of trivia learned this year is that the average human attention span has fallen from 12 seconds in 2000, to 8 seconds in 2015 (per a study by Microsoft) – and probably lower since. With this observation in mind, I will try and keep my annual review of reading brief, although it will still take more than 8 seconds of your time. Without wanting to sound too prescriptive, I might dare to suggest that were people to read more then…just possibly attention spans may lengthen. During the past 12 months, I have managed to find the time (and commit the attention) to reading, on average, a book a week – a metric which has remained remarkably steady for the last decade and more. 2017 was another vintage year for reading and the list was below a pleasure to compile.
Fiction highlights (ranked in order) –
2
I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes (2013) – essential reading for anyone curious about what inspires radical fundamentalism, written in a remarkably accessible format.
3
Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada (1947) – a wonderful and moving insight into the terror inspired by the Nazi regime and one family’s small rebellion; thanks to Jim M for the recommendation.
4
Swing Time by Zadie Smith (2016) – her best work yet; about friendship, celebrity and growing up.
5
Slade House by David Mitchell (2015) – another classic Mitchell novel, with several overlaid and interconnected stories.
6
“The Informers by Juan Gabriel Vázquez (2008) – superb account of terror in a Latin American dictatorship, with broader questions about history and identity also asked.
7
Purity by Jonathan Franzen (2015) – a novel which asks questions about contemporary (American) power and how secrets are hidden/ exposed.
8
Weekend Dancer by Talcott Levy (2017) – about a Jewish Mod coming-of-age in the early 1980s. Utterly original. I empathised with parts of it; thanks to Paul H for the recommendation.
9
“Sweet Caress by William Boyd” (2015) – history, family and the art of photography all in one novel; as kaleidoscopic in scope as his 2002 classic “Any Human Heart”
10
Dying, In Other Words by Maggie Gee (1981) – a cult novel; Gee was so incredibly far ahead of her time in how she wrote and about what she wrote. History ought to treat her better.
Additionally, I continue to read around one non-fiction work to every nine novels. Stand-out this year was “On Writing” by Stephen King (1999). It has certainly helped inform how I have thought about writing.