Year-End Lists

The Stranger: Top 20 Books of 2017, plus a list of “besties”

• Difficult Women
  Roxane Gay
• The Mother of All Questions
  Rebecca Solnit
• This Is How It Always Is
  Laurie Frankel
• Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History
  Kurt Andersen
• In the Long Run We Are All Dead

  Keynesianism, Political Economy, and Revolution
  Geoff Mann
• The Rules Do Not Apply
  Ariel Levy
• Nomadland

  Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century
  Jessica Bruder
• Did It! From Yippie To Yuppie

  Jerry Rubin, An American Revolutionary
  Pat Thomas
• Love and Trouble

  A Midlife Reckoning
  Claire Dederer
• Afterglow (a dog memoir)
  Eileen Myles
• World Without Mind

  The Existential Threat of Big Tech
  Franklin Foer
• Vinyl Freak

  Love Letters to a Dying Medium
  John Corbett
• (v.)
  Anastacia Renee
• Priestdaddy
  Patricia Lockwood
• Ranger Games

  A Story of Soldiers, Family and an Inexplicable Crime
  Ben Blum
• Conflict Is Not Abuse

  Overstating Harm, Community Responsibility, and the Duty of Repair
  Sarah Schulman
• The Best We Could Do

  An Illustrated Memoir
  Thi Bui
• There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyonce
  Morgan Parker
• All Grown Up
  Jami Attenberg
• What Happened
  Hillary Rodham Clinton

Besties

• Lincoln in the Bardo
  George Saunders
• We Were Eight Years in Power

  An American Tragedy
  Ta-Nehisi Coates
• The Future Is History

  How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia
  Masha Gessen
• The Raincoats
  Jenn Pelly
• Good Booty

  Love and Sex, Black and White, Body and Soul in American Music
  Ann Powers
• The Trouble with Reality

  A Rumination on Moral Panic in Our Time
  Brooke Gladstone
• Bunk

  The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News
  Kevin Young
• Ugly Time
  Sarah Galvin
• Catcall
  Holly Melgard
• Other Russias
  Victoria Lomasko
• Boyfriends
  Tara Atkinson
• Nature Poem
  Tommy Pico
• While Standing in Line for Death
  CAConrad
• Unreal City
  D.J. Bryant
• Why Poetry
  Matthew Zapruder
• My Favorite Thing Is Monsters
  Emil Ferris
• Sour Heart
  Jenny Zhang
• Dreaming the Beatles

  The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World
  Rob Sheffield
• The State of Affairs

  Rethinking Infidelity
  Esther Perel
• Why We Sleep

  Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams
  Matthew Walker
• Homo Deus

  A Brief History of Tomorrow
  Yuval Harari

The Week: Best Books of 2017, divided into novels and nonfiction

Novels

1. Lincoln in the Bardo
   George Saunders
2. Sing, Unburied, Sing
   Jesmyn Ward
3. Exit West
   Mohsin Hamid
4. White Tears
   Hari Kunzru
5. Manhattan Beach
   Jennifer Egan

Nonfiction

1. Killers of the Flower Moon

   The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
   David Grann
2. The Future Is History

   How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia
   Masha Gessen
3. We Were Eight Years in Power

   An American Tragedy
   Ta-Nehisi Coates
4. Grant
   Ron Chernow
5. Hunger

   A Memoir of (My) Body
   Roxane Gay

Vibe Magazine: 25 Best Albums of 2017 (“in nonsequential order”)

[see also 2019 • 2018]

• Rather You Than Me
  Rick Ross
• Gang Signs & Prayer
  Stormzy
• Big Fish Theory
  Vince Staples
• At What Cost
  GoldLink
• blkswn
  Smino
• DAMN.
  Kendrick Lamar
• Luv Is Rage 2
  Lil Uzi Vert
• 4:44
  JAY-Z
• The Never Story
  JID
• Take Me Apart
  Kelela
• Culture
  Migos
• Jungle Rules
  French Montana
• More Life
  Drake
• 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time
  Big K.R.I.T.
• Freudian
  Daniel Caesar
• Laila’s Wisdom
  Rapsody
• Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1
  Calvin Harris
• Lust for Life
  Lana Del Rey
• Flower Boy
  Tyler, The Creator
• Process
  Sampha
• Energía Lado B
  J Balvin
• Pretty Girls Like Trap Music
  2 Chainz
• Ctrl
  SZA
• Sonder Son
  Brent Faiyaz
• Still Striving
  A$AP Ferg

Reverse Shot: Best Films of 2017

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. A Quiet Passion
   Terence Davies
2. The Human Surge
   Eduardo Williams
3. Personal Shopper
   Olivier Assayas
4. Ex Libris: New York Public Library
   Frederick Wiseman
5. BPM (Beats Per Minute)
   Robin Campillo
6. Phantom Thread
   Paul Thomas Anderson
7. Nocturama
   Bertrand Bonello
8. Wonderstruck
   Todd Haynes
9. By the Time It Gets Dark
   Anocha Suwichakornpong
10. Faces Places
    Agnès Varda and JR

Darren Hughes: 20 Favorite Films of 2017 (as posted to Letterboxd and Twitter)

[see also 2021 • 2010s • 2018 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2012]

1. Good Time
   Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
2. Ex Libris: New York Public Library
   Frederick Wiseman
3. Nocturama
   Bertrand Bonello
4. The Unknown Girl
   Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
5. On the Beach at Night Alone
   Hong Sang-soo
6. A Quiet Passion
   Terence Davies
7. The Lost City of Z
   James Gray
8. Faces Places
   Agnès Varda and JR
9. Slack Bay
   Bruno Dumont
10. L’enfant secret
    Philippe Garrel
11. Lovesong
    So Yong Kim
12. The Killing of a Sacred Deer
    Yorgos Lanthimos
13. Marjorie Prime
    Michael Almereyda
14. Princess Cyd
    Stephen Cone
15. The Work
    Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous
16. Son of Joseph
    Eugène Green
17. 4 Days in France
    Jérôme Reybaud
18. This Time Tomorrow
    Lina Rodriguez
19. Kékszakállú
    Gastón Solnicki
20. The Ornithologist
    João Pedro Rodrigues

Justine Smith: 30 Favorite Films of 2017, as posted to Letterboxd

[see also 2019 • 2018]

1. Thelma
   Joachim Trier
2. The Killing of a Sacred Deer
   Yorgos Lanthimos
3. Good Time
   Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
4. Phantom Thread
   Paul Thomas Anderson
5. The Beguiled
   Sofia Coppola
6. Loveless
   Andrey Zvyagintsev
7. Bad Genius
   Nattawut Poonpiriya
8. Get Out
   Jordan Peele
9. The Florida Project
   Sean Baker
10. Western
    Valeska Grisebach
11. In the Intense Now
    João Moreira Salles
12. John Wick: Chapter 2
    Chad Stahelski
13. The Wild Boys
    Bertrand Mandico
14. Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc
    Bruno Dumont
15. Maison du bonheur
    Sofia Bohdanowicz
16. Professor Marston and the Wonder Women
    Angela Robinson
17. The First Lap
    Kim Dae-hwan
18. Novitiate
    Margaret Betts
19. Spell Reel
    Filipa César
20. Dragonfly Eyes
    Xu Bing
21. Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun?
    Travis Wilkerson
22. Let the Sunshine In
    Claire Denis
23. Ex Libris: New York Public Library
    Frederick Wiseman
24. The Rider
    Chloé Zhao
25. Les Dépossédés
    Mathieu Roy
26. Thor: Ragnarok
    Taika Waititi
27. Fake Tattoos
    Pascal Plante
28. Song to Song
    Terrence Malick
29. I, Tonya
    Craig Gillespie
30. Claire’s Camera
    Hong Sang-soo

John Rangel: Favorite Films of 2017, as posted to Twitter

1. Faces Places
   Agnès Varda and JR
2. My Happy Family
   Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß
3. A Quiet Passion
   Terence Davies
4. Song to Song
   Terrence Malick
5. Nocturama
   Bertrand Bonello
6. The Florida Project
   Sean Baker
7. Lady Bird
   Greta Gerwig
8. Mudbound
   Dee Rees
9. Good Time
   Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
10. The Lost City of Z
    James Gray

Marya E. Gates: Favorite Fifteen Films of 2017

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. God’s Own Country
   Francis Lee
2. Mudbound
   Dee Rees
3. Wonder Woman
   Patty Jenkins
4. Their Finest
   Lone Scherfig
5. Good Time
   Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
6. Kedi
   Ceyda Torun
7. Dawson City: Frozen Time
   Bill Morrison
8. Professor Marston and the Wonder Women
   Angela Robinson
9. Lucky
   John Carroll Lynch
10. Get Out
    Jordan Peele
11. BPM (Beats Per Minute)
    Robin Campillo
12. Beach Rats
    Eliza Hittman
13. My Happy Family
    Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß
14. The Big Sick
    Michael Showalter
15. First They Killed My Father
    Angelina Jolie

Barack Obama: Best Books I Read in 2017

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018]

• The Power
  Naomi Alderman
• Grant
  Ron Chernow
• Evicted

  Poverty and Profit in the American City
  Matthew Desmond
• Janesville

  An American Story
  Amy Goldstein
• Exit West
  Mohsin Hamid
• Five-Carat Soul
  James McBride
• Anything Is Possible
  Elizabeth Strout
• Dying
  Cory Taylor
• A Gentleman in Moscow
  Amor Towles
• Sing, Unburied, Sing
  Jesmyn Ward

Bonus for hoops fans

• Coach Wooden and Me

  Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court
  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
• Basketball (and Other Things)

  A Collection of Questions Asked, Answered, Illustrated
  Shea Serrano

David Hudson: Top Ten Films of 2017, as published by Criterion’s The Daily

[see also 2019 • 2018 • 2016 • 2015]

1. A Ghost Story
   David Lowery
2. Western
   Valeska Grisebach
3. Good Time
   Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
4. Get Out
   Jordan Peele
5. Let the Sunshine In
   Claire Denis
6. Untitled
   Michael Glawogger and Monika Willi
7. The Day After
   Hong Sang-soo
8. Call Me by Your Name
   Luca Guadagnino
9. The Florida Project
   Sean Baker
10. The Rider
    Chloé Zhao

Honorable Mentions

• My Happy Family
  Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß
• The Other Side of Hope
  Aki Kaurismäki
• Lucky
  John Carroll Lynch
• Ana, mon amour
  Cãlin Peter Netzer
• Dunkirk
  Christopher Nolan
• Self-Criticism of a Bourgeois Dog
  Julian Radlmaier
• You Were Never Really Here
  Lynne Ramsay
• Casting
  Nicolas Wackerbarth
• Loveless
  Andrey Zvyagintsev