3 Books I Read In 2017

I read 32 books in 2017 which are logged on my goodreads page. You can go there and see my ratings for each and my reviews of some. If you don’t use goodreads to log and review books I highly recommend it especially for those of you who have a resolution to read more in 2018. Here, I’d just like to highlight three of the better books I read in 2017 in no particular order.

1. The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis

“If we insist on keeping Hell (or even earth) we shall not see Heaven: if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell.”

The Great Divorce is the story of a man who dies and finds himself on a journey into Heaven. Along the way he overhears many conversations between others on the same journey who are struggling to let go of their sinful pride and earthly desires in order that they may continue on the journey. The style of this book is very similar to The Screwtape Letters and will similarly convict and humble the reader. It has become one of my favorite C. S. Lewis books. I highly recommend the audiobook version produced by Blackstone audio.

2. Still Life by Louise Penny

“Three Pines wasn’t on any tourist map, being too far off any main or even secondary road. Like Narnia, it was generally found unexpectedly and with a degree of surprise that such an elderly village should have been hiding in this valley all along. Anyone fortunate enough to find it once usually found their way back.”

Still Life is the first book in the Chief Inspector Gamache series. The series follows Chief Inspector Armond Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec (Quebec Provincial Police) as he solves crimes in the small village of Three Pines. The setting is cozy and idyllic and the handful of unique characters are developed well throughout the series. If you like mystery novels, you will love this series.

3. As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes

“For safety purposes, both to protect him and any passersby, they decided to place a small velvet rope barrier around André, who was by now snoring loudly enough to shake the lobby walls.”

If you love The Princess Bride then you should read this book. It is written by Cary Elwes who played Wesley and it provides an extended behind the scenes narrative of the making of the movie – including Elwes’ account of extensive sword training and bar hopping with Andre the Giant. The audiobook is read by Cary Elwes and contains some guest readings by many of the actors along with director, Rob Reiner.