What's Buzzworthy: The Best Books of 2007

BuzzSugar — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 07:00:13 -0800

Thanks to all of you who participated in my Buzzworthy challenge to choose the best books of 2007 - and all of my challenges this year! It's been fun, and I'll be back with more great challenges in 2008.

For this challenge, you all picked out some great titles - some that I've read, others that have made my list of books to check out in the future. Here were some of the picks:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Unsurprisingly, the final book in the Harry Potter series was a favorite pick in this challenge. It was bookmarked by MuggleCrazed and tchemp, who called it a satisfying conclusion for readers of all ages.

Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman's Guide to Why Feminism Matters by Jessica Valenti

Adrianne chose this title, recommending it with these words: "If you've got no clue as to where to start looking into feminism, then this is probably the book to read. The author writes in a simple style that calls out to the reader to really take an understanding into women and the particular events that surrounds us on a daily basis. I discovered this book over the summer and read it in three days, non-stop. I'm re-reading it after I finish my other book soon!"

Three more, plus a widget with everyone's picks, so just read more.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

The newest title by the author of My Sister's Keeper was chosen by genvessel. She wrote: "As someone who works with youth, this is one of the most achingly accurate accounts of teen angst . . . and it's just so well written. Well done."

Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella

The newest title in the Shopaholic series made gruaig_rua's list of the year's best. The title finds heroine Becky Bloomwood in a great place in life, working at an upscale boutique and shopping her way through morning sickness - until she learns that her doctor is her husband's glamorous ex-girlfriend.

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

tchemp picked out this novel by Entertainment Weekly critic Gillian Flynn, which was released in paperback in 2007. Her summary of the story: "Troubled news reporter Camille Preaker is sent to her small Missouri hometown to investigate the murders of two young girls and ends up uncovering her own family's dark secrets."

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What's Buzzworthy? The Best Books of 2007

BuzzSugar — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 11:30:21 -0800

I love reading under any circumstances, but with the writers' strike likely to roll into next year, I'm going to be needing book recommendations more than ever. So before we flip the calendar to 2008, I wanted to ask you all about your favorite books of 2007.

One of my favorites: Will Allison's What You Have Left, a book I picked up almost by accident at my local library and ended up devouring in a weekend. The novel is essentially a set of interconnected short stories focusing on an estranged father and daughter trying to find their way back to each other, with side appearances from NASCAR, the Confederate flag, and poker machines. It's a small, spare book that manages to be incredibly affecting.

Others from the year that I'd recommend: Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, which made me want to make my own cheese; Ann Patchett's Run, which had some of my favorite characters of the year; and Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns, as good a follow-up as I could have imagined to The Kite Runner.

So now, what are yours? Just use BuzzSugar's cool bookmarking tool to find your favorites online, write a little blurb about why they stood out to you, and tag them with the phrase Best Books of 2007. Then, next week, I'll feature some of the books here so we can all get our reading lists ready for the coming year.

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