Bookhound review of the year 2017

2016 was a particularly horrid year for me, 2017, thankfully, was one of my best years ever - I discovered camping, enjoyed meeting puffins on Skomer and wolves in the Cevennes. I took part in the astonishing Trailwalker event as support crew, and was inspired to see the ballet of Don Quixote, after finally reading the book.

It was an exceptionally good year for reading too. I finally managed to smash my To be read challenge finishing 47 books in that category including a few that had been on the shelf for a very long time.

Altogether this year I read 112 books, of which just 21 were non-fiction. It may have been a small number but they were perfectly formed. Some cracking reads here from the world of the Black Death to a history of map-making, I sipped cocktails with existentialists in Paris, and was moved by the lives of those who perished on the Titanic, and the people who risked their lives at the Chernobyl reactor, and whose lives were changed forever by the disaster. They were fascinating.

There were some bumper fiction reads, including the enormous Don Quixote, and the (almost as big) Count of Monte Cristo. Don Quixote became one of my favourite ever characters, and easily wins the 2017 award for "Fictional character I would most like to friend on Facebook."

I finally got round to reading my first novel in a foreign language. Suitably enough it was a Maigret mystery. In addition to this I also read 16 novels in translation ranging from Scandi-noir to memories of life in war-torn France, and a wonderful innocent amble around London with a gentle Chinese artist.

I'm not going to give awards this year, but will give honourable mention to my favourite reads. At the start of the year I loved Jonathan Crown's tale of a small dog caught up in a turbulent century, Sirius. Later on I was particularly moved by one of the very best of my non-fiction reads, M.T. Anderson's non-fiction work for young people following the life of Russian composer, Dmitri Shostakovich, and the events leading up to the premiere of his Leningrad symphony. It was an extraordinarily moving story told simply but beautifully. Julian Barnes' novel based on the life of Shostakovich, The noise of time, was also extraordinary, but there was a simplicity about Anderson's writing, that made it a compelling read.

Master and Margarita remains one of my favourite books, read this year in yet another translation. I also loved the aforementioned Don Quixote. This was one of those books that I thought I should read but didn't expect to love. It's a wonderful book, and if you haven't read it yet, you should do. It may have been written 400 years ago, but it feels in many ways very modern. I loved the Don and his faithful servant, Sancho Panza in an often very funny tale of love, loyalty and adventure.

Jules Verne was another happy find in 2017, and became the author I'd most like to invite to dinner. Among non-fiction reads When breath becomes air was one of the year's most memorable reads - the story of a promising young surgeon's struggle with cancer. It became especially important later in the year when I received some very sad news about an old friend.

Books are about life, and this year there have been books about life and death, of love and loss, of music, and dancing, adventure and horror. And I seem to have read them all in 2017. May 2018 be as good. A very Happy New Year to you.