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Barnes & Noble Best Books of the Year 2017

Barnes & Noble Best Books of the Year 2017 names 50 books across 2 categories. 24 of them also won or were shortlisted for an award.

Fiction

  1. A Column of Fire by Ken Follettsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. A Legacy of Spies by John Le Carrésource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Artemis by Andy Weirsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingatesource (opens in a new tab)
  5. Exit West by Mohsin Hamidsource (opens in a new tab)
  6. Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrichsource (opens in a new tab)
  7. Glass Houses by Louise Pennysource (opens in a new tab)
  8. Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker by Gregory Maguiresource (opens in a new tab)
  9. In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allendesource (opens in a new tab)
  10. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunderssource (opens in a new tab)
  11. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ngsource (opens in a new tab)
  12. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitzsource (opens in a new tab)
  13. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egansource (opens in a new tab)
  14. Norse Mythology by Neil Gaimansource (opens in a new tab)
  15. Origin by Dan Brownsource (opens in a new tab)
  16. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Wardsource (opens in a new tab)
  17. Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King and Owen Kingsource (opens in a new tab)
  18. Sourdough by Robin Sloansource (opens in a new tab)
  19. Strange Weather: Four Short Novels by Joe Hillsource (opens in a new tab)
  20. The Late Show by Michael Connellysource (opens in a new tab)
  21. The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermottsource (opens in a new tab)
  22. The Rooster Bar by John Grishamsource (opens in a new tab)
  23. The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffmansource (opens in a new tab)
  24. The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattucksource (opens in a new tab)
  25. Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hankssource (opens in a new tab)

Nonfiction

  1. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tysonsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Basketball (and Other Things): A Collection of Questions Asked, Answered, Illustrated by Shea Serranosource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert M. Sapolskysource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit by Chris Matthewssource (opens in a new tab)
  5. Churchill and Orwell: The Fight for Freedom by Thomas E. Rickssource (opens in a new tab)
  6. Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II by Liza Mundysource (opens in a new tab)
  7. Democracy: Stories from the Long Road to Freedom by Condoleezza Ricesource (opens in a new tab)
  8. Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the American West by Tom Clavinsource (opens in a new tab)
  9. Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kellysource (opens in a new tab)
  10. Everything All at Once: How to Unleash Your Inner Nerd, Tap into Radical Curiosity and Solve Any Problem by Bill Nyesource (opens in a new tab)
  11. Grant by Ron Chernowsource (opens in a new tab)
  12. Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Hararisource (opens in a new tab)
  13. Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grannsource (opens in a new tab)
  14. Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacsonsource (opens in a new tab)
  15. Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World by Eric Metaxassource (opens in a new tab)
  16. Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grantsource (opens in a new tab)
  17. Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose by Joe Bidensource (opens in a new tab)
  18. The American Spirit: Who We Are & What We Stand For by David McCulloughsource (opens in a new tab)
  19. The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia by Masha Gessensource (opens in a new tab)
  20. The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Mooresource (opens in a new tab)
  21. Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977 – 2002 by David Sedarissource (opens in a new tab)
  22. We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coatessource (opens in a new tab)
  23. We're Going to Need More Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, and True by Gabrielle Unionsource (opens in a new tab)
  24. Where the Past Begins by Amy Tansource (opens in a new tab)
  25. You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexiesource (opens in a new tab)

About the Barnes & Noble Best Books of the Year

Barnes & Noble's year-end Best Books picks, chosen by its booksellers and editors. Category Best Books is B&N's overall top list (15 in 2018, 10 or 11 in 2020-2022). Fiction and Nonfiction are B&N's general fiction and nonfiction lists. Sources: B&N press releases on barnesandnobleinc.com for 2017, 2018 and 2022, and B&N Reads blog posts for 2016 (10 Must-Read Novels of 2016), 2020, 2021, 2024 and 2025. The 2021 1619 Project entry lists Nikole Hannah-Jones only; the page also names The New York Times Magazine as editor. Genre and subject lists (mystery, thriller, SF and fantasy, romance, horror, history, biography, science, business, cookbooks, YA, kids, audiobooks, gifts) are left out, as are mid-year 'so far' lists and customer-voted lists. The B&N Book of the Year is its own source (barnes-noble-book-of-the-year) and is not repeated here. Missing years: B&N's year-end lists before 2016 and for 2019 and 2023 lived only on barnesandnoble.com collection pages, which now sit behind a Cloudflare human check, and the Wayback Machine was offline; the 2015 press release uses themed categories (coloring books, celebrity memoirs) and is left out. The 2022 fiction blog post lost half its book links when B&N moved its site, so 2022 has only the overall list. 2024 and 2025 have no general nonfiction list, only subject lists. No list is ranked.

Organization: Barnes & Noble. Official site (opens in a new tab)

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