2017 in books

Every year I like to write about the new books I’ve read, partly to reassure myself that I still have enough spare time and that I haven’t atrophied into a soulless automaton, and partly because it’s a nerdy way to do a year in review (sort of). So here goes.

Let’s start with work.

Hotel Untold Stories II, René D. Egle

What better way to begin than with volume II of a gossipy semi-autobiography in the barely-there guise of fiction written by a resident manager (now my big boss, so I must tread carefully here haha)? The hilarious, sometimes risqué, always memorable anecdotes are what keep me in this industry, honestly.

U-1706, René D. Egle

Our fictional hotelier from Untold Stories makes an appearance here, but that’s the only hospitality connection. Genuinely enjoyed this thriller.

The Art of War, Sun Tzu

Now the workplace can be a battlefield, and I bought this at a time when I was in dire need of ancient advice on strategy and conflict resolution. (I wonder how Human Resources will feel if I tell them I would like to make this recommended reading in the module I facilitate for a leadership program.)

Boomsday, Christopher Buckley

There is a shelf in our office on which repose several books that are free for borrowing, and one time I grabbed this sly commentary on Washington, D.C politics, which also worked as a counterpoint to the earnestness of Designated Survivor. (What did you guys think of that mid-season finale?)

Perfume, Patrick Suskind

Another one from the office shelf, written so you get engrossed in the sensory details without stopping to consider how disturbing the murderer actually is.

Crazy Rich Asians and China Rich Girlfriend, Kevin Kwan

I was privileged enough to attend dinner with Kevin and have him sign my copies of his fun, frothy, deliciously detailed books afterward. Definitely a highlight of the year.

Was also lucky enough to be gifted with advance readers’ copies of these:

Watchdog, Will McIntosh

Love a good dystopian story, especially when it comes with dogs – constructed out of salvaged mechanical parts and given artificial intelligence, to be sure, but still dogs.

The Chocopocalypse, Chris Callaghan

Basically a cautionary tale about letting greed create an artificial worldwide chocolate shortage. Children’s stories are very, very different from the ones I used to read as a tot.

So, hurray for a career that involves books, reading and literary figures in one way or another.

Moving on to life in general:

Dictator, Robert Harris

I’ve always been enamored of Roman epics like Colleen McCullough’s The First Man in Rome and The Grass Crown, so this sprawling tale about Cicero was an instant favorite. Also, it is a savvy move to brush up on history when your regular real-life interactions involve conversations with someone whose hometown was once a Roman garrison.

Stories of Your Life and Others, Ted Chiang

Thought-provoking science fiction, definitely not a book you want to read for light entertainment. It’s a book that demands attention and commitment, difficult things to give nowadays.

The Track of Sand, Andrea Camilleri

Now this is entertainment – it’s a good old-fashioned Italian murder mystery (you can track where my heart currently is by my literature choices).

Neither Here nor There, Bill Bryson

So is this – a collection of wry travel observations from Europe’s capitals. Would have been even better had the author been British, given Brexit and the blue-passport fuss these days, but he’s American, so no joke made here. (He did live in England for several years…)

The Labors of Hercules, Agatha Christie

I’m fond of Hercule Poirot, bless his little gray cells, and I think I finished reading this during one of those rare weekends where you don’t have to work, don’t need to run any errands, and can spend all day curled up like a cat in a patch of sunlight.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, George RR Martin

Again, a gift, the penultimate book I read this year. Charming, not as rife with horror or heartbreak as GRRM’s ASOIAF, a welcome respite, really, and another thing to tide me over until Game of Thrones Season 8 or Winds of Winter, whichever comes first. Come on, George!

So that’s that, a hodge-podge of titles that reflect current interests and ever-varying moods, very much representative of a year that was – to put it positively – hardly ever dull, and was so often excessively…eventful, that these same books were also a well-trodden escape route from it.

And finally, the books from this year’s trips, because I always seem to pick up one or two when on holiday:

The Naked Diplomat, Tom Fletcher

Bought this one during a long layover in Dubai – out of all the usual airport bookstore fodder, I went for the recollections of a former British diplomat because 1, I will never stop being interested in foreign affairs (especially now, when almost anything else is preferable to domestic news) and 2, also because being back in the Middle East put me in an empire state of mind. Terrible, I know. Must be all those episodes of The Crown (which, by the way, I adore).

Stupinigi: La Delizia Dei Savoia, Alberto Cottino

A present from my lovely Turinese hosts- “Practice your Italian”, they said – after I’d burbled on about having gone to the Palazzina di caccia di Stupinigi (well, stood outside  the gates like a proper peasant, really, because it was closed) and the other royal residences of the House of Savoy.

It’s nice to end a messy, rough-and-tumble year with this agreeably erudite book, and not only because reading Italian is a marvelous mental workout; it’s both a tangible reminder of the beautiful city I visited last autumn, and an emblem of far-ranging adventures (and language lessons) to come.