Books
16 Books Everyone Will Be Talking About This Year
If you don't want to find yourself scrolling through Twitter with a serious case of FOMO, there are 16 books you simply need to read — because the Internet is going to love these books in 2017. I can pretty much guarantee that everyone on your newsfeed is going to read these books this year, and all your favorite bookstagrammers will be putting them in their (beautifully-arranged) shelfies. To join in the conversation, you'll need to put these 16 books on your TBR at once.
Some of these books feel especially relevant this year. Many of them are powerful and inspirational; these are the books your Twitter faves will be quoting while they spark an online revolution. Some of them come from big-name authors with massive online followings. Some of them have been making the rounds on BookTube for months, ever since bloggers got their hands on the first proof copies. And of course, some of them are just going to be so much fun that the Internet won't be able to resist them.
So if you want to stand any chance of understanding all the 2017 memes, GIFs, and quotes, then make sure to have these books on pre-order.
1'Into the Water' by Paula Hawkins (May 2)
The last time the Internet went into a book-induced frenzy, it was over Girl on the Train — so when Paula Hawkins' follow-up thriller Into the Water comes out in May, I predict Twitter will turn into one big spoiler zone. You better read Into the Water on its release day if you don't want to read about it on your timeline first.
2'And We're Off' by Dana Schwartz (May 2)
Dana Schwartz has over 56,000 followers on Twitter, who all adore her hilarious takes on popular culture and the arts. Her debut YA novel, And We're Off, tells the story of teenage painter Nora, who sets off on a summer trip around Europe with one mission: to create an original work of art from each location to send to her grandfather.
3'Sour Heart' by Jenny Zhang (August 1)
Sour Heart will be the first book to come out of Lena Dunham's publishing imprint Lenny, which she established along with her partner Jenni Konner. It's a collection of stories about Chinese-American girls growing up in New York, and so will offer a different perspective on New York girlhood than the one portrayed on Dunham's own show Girls.
4'Difficult Women' by Roxane Gay
Roxane Gay's short story collection came out at the very beginning of the year, but its impact is bound to last well into 2017; this is the year of Nasty Women, after all.
5'And We Were Like' by Caroline Calloway
Caroline Calloway is the girl who invented the Instagram memoir. When she went overseas to study at the picturesque Cambridge University in the UK, she took to Instagram to tell her story — and the world fell in love with it. It's got castles; it's got romance; it's got champagne being drunk on the roof at sunset — and now it's all going to be in a book. The release date for And We Were Like has not yet been set, and it's unlikely to be out before the end of this year — but as Calloway is Instagramming and Snapchatting her writing progress every day, the Internet isn't going to shut up about her book any time soon.
6'The Secrets of My Life' by Caitlyn Jenner (April 25)
Even though Caitlyn Jenner is a politically controversial figure (many people feel that her support for Trump reflects her privilege, and her failure to support others in the LGBTQIA+ community), it has been wonderful to see her finally free to be her true self. Her upcoming book, The Secrets of My Life, is bound to make a splash online.
7'The Winds of Winter' by George R.R. Martin
Speculation about this book's release date has been ongoing since 2011, and it's not dying down any time soon. It's unlikely that George R.R. Martin will finish Winds of Winter this year, but he has promised a new A Song of Ice and Fire story as a consolation. It's not quite what we were hoping for, but it'll only serve to amp up the Internet's obsession with the sixth ASOIAF book even more.
8'The Hate U Give' by Angie Thomas (Feb 28)
The Hate U Give is inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, and it's been generating some serious buzz ever since it was first announced. No less than 13 publishing houses fought to acquire it, and Amandla Stenberg will star in the movie adaptation. This is a book that the Internet won't be keeping quiet about — and for good reason.
9'I Hate Everyone But You' by Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin (September 19)
Internet darlings Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin are writing a YA novel, which might the happiest news of 2017. The comedy duo behind the popular YouTube channel Just Between Us talk to their audience about everything from sexuality and coming out to mental health. Their videos are laugh-out-loud hilarious, but the advice within is earnest and helpful — and doesn't that sound like the recipe for a perfect YA novel? I Hate Everyone But You will be told through a series of texts and emails between two best friends based on Dunn and Raskin themselves.
10'Allegedly' by Tiffany D. Jackson
No doubt you've already seen the buzz surrounding this brand new novel, and the conversation is only growing every day. Allegedly is about Mary, a Black girl convicted of murdering a white baby, and sentenced to live in a group home. Years later, she's pregnant with a baby of her own, and the state are threatening to take it away from her. The only person who can help is Mary's Momma, who was also present when the baby died — but Momma is the one person Mary distrusts the most of all.
11'The Book of Joan' by Lidia Yuknavitch (April 18)
Lidia Yuknavitch already caught the Internet's attention with her bestselling novel The Small Backs of Children, and her upcoming feminist dystopia is bound to be talked about even more. The Book of Joan is set in the near-future, in a world ravaged by war, in which humans are nearly extinct. The protagonist is a reimagined Joan of Arc, a heroine who might just be able to change human destiny.
12'Men Without Women' by Haruki Murakami (May 9)
Haruki Murakami always breaks the Internet, and his latest short story collection will be no exception. Men Without Women is a collection of seven stories, each about a man who, in a different way, finds himself alone.
13'One Day We'll All Be Dead And None Of This Will Matter' by Scaachi Koul (May 2)
Even this front cover has already become Internet-famous, so when the book itself is published, it's bound to go totally viral. One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter is a collection of essays about sexism and stereotypes, and growing up the daughter of Indian immigrants in Canada.
14'Hunger' by Roxane Gay (June 13)
It looks like we're going to be talking about Roxane Gay a lot this year, because not only has she just released Difficult Women, she's also about to release a memoir about food and self-image. Her Tumblr blog on the topic has already been phenomenally popular, and her legions of fans are going to have a lot to say about Hunger.
15'The Meaning of Michelle,' ed. by Veronica Chambers
We're seriously missing having the Obamas in the White House, but both Barack and Michelle have left powerful and important legacies. In The Meaning of Michelle, 16 writers have shared their own thoughts on how Michelle Obama has impacted them — including Roxane Gay, Phillipa Soo, and Veronica Chambers.
16'We: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere' by Gillian Anderson and Jennifer Nadel (March 7)
Anything Gillian Anderson touches turns to Internet gold, and this manifesto, co-written with her journalist BFF Jennifer Nadel, will be no exception. We is a manual for change, a call to arms for women to change their lives, their communities, and even the world.
