Best books I read in 2017

The best books I read in 2017. (They do not have to be published/released in 2017. I just have to have read them) 

I have wanted to post this list for a while, but time and life tend to get in the way. This is a list  of what I consider the best books I read in 2017. These books may or not have been published in 2017. They are books I read last year that I rated highly, and I think folks out there may want to consider reading as well. Links go to my reviews of the books.

Thrawn (Star Wars). Grand Admiral Thrawn is one of the very popular non-canonical (as in not in the movies. . . yet) characters in Star Wars. This is his origin story, and it is a great read.

LEGO Star Wars: Small Scenes from a Big Galaxy. A photographer takes Star Wars LEGO figures and toys and puts them in new, often amusing poses, then takes pictures of them. If you like LEGOs, and/or photography, this is a fun book to look at.

Live Through This. Clay Cane's memoir of growing up as a gay black man in the U.S. touching on society, culture, religion, race, among other topics. Very moving book.

Tears We Cannot Stop. This is Michael Eric Dyson's "Sermon to White America," and boy do white Americans need to read this and take it to heart.

Kitchen Table Tarot. Another great Tarot book. I liked its casual style and home style approach.

Ghostland. A great book about haunted places in the United States and how people experience the haunted and paranormal. You get a bit of culture, history, and trivia in this book.

Bringing the Tarot to Life. This book combines theater and writing prompts with Tarot for an interesting experience in reading and working with the cards.

The Marseille Tarot Revealed. For learning Marseilles-style Tarot, this is a very good book. I have received as gifts two Marseilles decks. They are not my preference (I do not tend to like pip-only decks), but they were special gifts, so I am determined to learn the system, and this book is a good option for that.

The Thousand Dollar Dinner. This book was one of the good reading pleasures I got in 2017. Before cooking competitions and celebrity chefs became television and media staples, we had this event.