Best New Books for 2017

Caroline Morse Teel is the Managing Editor for SmarterTravel Media. Follow her on Instagram @TravelWithCaroline.

Caroline joined Boston-based SmarterTravel in 2011 after living in Ireland, London, and Manhattan. She's traveled to all seven continents, jumped out of planes, and bungeed off bridges in the pursuit of a good story. She loves exploring off-the-beaten path destinations, anything outdoorsy, and all things adventure.

Her stories have also appeared online at USA Today, Business Insider, Huffington Post, Yahoo, Boston.com, TripAdvisor, Buzzfeed, Jetsetter, Oyster, Airfarewatchdog, and others.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: "Earplugs. A good pair has saved my sleep and sanity many times!"

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: Hiking Mount Kilimanjaro.

Travel Motto: "Don't be boring."

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: "Aisle (when the first class private suite isn't available)."

E-mail her at cteel@smartertravel.com.

See recent posts by Caroline Morse Teel

A new year means it’s time for new books. Searching for something to read by the fire at your ski rental, or a great story to make time fly by on your next flight? Here are some of the best new books so far in 2017 that deserve a spot in your suitcase.

Best New Books 2017

The Rule of the Land, by Garrett Carr

Irish map-maker Garrett Carr spends a year traveling the border between the United Kingdom and Ireland. Carr explores via foot, canoe, and other means, to explore the modern-day climate and past history of this divided area.

What People Are Saying: "This invisible line, now set to become the UK’s frontier with the European Union, has hosted smugglers and kings, runaways and peacemakers, protestors and terrorists. Carr also includes his own maps, which are something truly special." – Arminta Wallace, The Irish Times

Available on Amazon.

The Rule of the Land, by Garrett Carr

Available on Amazon.

A Word for Love, by Emily Robbins

Ever read the New York Times' popular Modern Love column and wish for more detail? If you loved Emily Robbin's feature, "Grappling With the Language of Love", you're in luck, as she's written a full book detailing her experience as an American exchange student who travels to Syria.

What People Are Saying: "In this timely and pressingly relevant novel, Robbins crafts a melodic meditation on the culture, language, and familial devotion that account for the ninety-nine different ways a language expresses the idea we call 'love.'" – Riverfront Times

Available on Amazon.

The Futures, by Anna Pitoniak

Anna Pitoniak's debut novel is set in 2008, during the financial market crash. Amid economic turmoil, a trust-fund kid meets a scholarship student from a rural town—they fall in love and move to New York City together.

What People Are Saying: "This winter's cathartic read: a story that feels familiar yet wholly original, like every heartbreak ever." - Marie Claire

Available on Amazon.

Human Acts, by Han Kang

Han Kang follows up her bestselling novel The Vegetarian with a much-buzzed about work of fiction: Human Acts. Human Acts tells the story of a young boy who is killed during a student uprising in South Korea, and how his death reverberates through the country. This is sure to be one of the best new books of 2017.

What People Are Saying: "A rare and astonishing book, sensitively translated by Deborah Smith, Human Acts enrages, impassions, and most importantly, gives voices back to who were silenced" - The Observer

Available on Amazon.

The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living, by Meik Wiking

Couldn't you use a little bit more comfort and coziness in your life this winter? Meik Wiking's book explores "hygge," the Danish word for "coziness," a trend that has taken over the country as of late.

What People Are Saying: "Has the concept of hygge recently entered your consciousness? You’re not alone. Hygge, or the Danish idea of 'coziness,' can be found in anything from a roaring fire to a perfect pair of lumpy socks, and it has long been a vital aspect of the Scandinavian culture. And 2016 was the year in which it moved west. Hygge became a full-blown phenomenon in England, and to a lesser extent, in the U.S. More than 20 books on hygge were published last year in America alone, and more are due out on this side of the Atlantic in the coming months, including Meik Wiking’s The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living, which is already a best-seller in the U.K." - Vogue

Available on Amazon.

Idaho, by Emily Ruskovich

Author Emily Ruskovich won the O. Henry Prize for her short story work, but she now offers up a full-length novel as a contender for one of the best new books of 2017. Idaho is a suspenseful story of love and grief, told through the points of view of multiple characters.

What People Are Saying: "Hauntingly brilliant, this book will stay with you for days after you've put it down." - Evening Standard

Available on Amazon.

Always Happy Hour: Stories, by Mary Miller

Gift the millennial in your life this collection of bitingly funny stories by acclaimed author Mary Miller. This collection of shorts tells the stories of twenty-something women trying to find their way in life.

What People Are Saying: "The women in these stories worry about their weight, how they look in bikinis, if they will ever have children, and whether they are living the life they should be. Miller’s collection feels so true because it never glosses over the desperate or unflattering portrayals of its narrators, but neither does it exploit their faults." - Publishers Weekly

Available on Amazon.

The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story, by Douglas Preston

The true story of uncovering a lost city hidden deep in the Honduran jungle is more fascinating than any fiction. Author Douglas Preston accompanied an expedition into the Mosquitia rainforest, and takes the reader along for the ride as the team uncovers artifacts from a civilization that was mysteriously abandoned over 500 years ago.

What People Are Saying: "People are forever looking for ‘lost cities,’ if not ‘the’ lost city of some ancient civilization or other. Machu Picchu was billed as ‘The Lost City of the Incas,’ but it turned out to be a summer retreat for Incan one percenters. Adventurers, archaeologists and writers periodically launch such grandiose scavenger hunts, generally deep in some forbidding jungle. Douglas Preston, author of best-selling thrillers as well as non-fiction books and magazine articles, accompanied a recent quest to find a mysterious metropolis long hidden in the Honduran hinterlands, where poisonous snakes, infectious insects and jaguars lurk." - USA Today

Available on Amazon.

Foreign Soil: And Other Stories, by Maxine Beneba Clarke

The stories inside Foreign Soil span the globe, from Australia to Sudan, and yet a common thread runs through them all. Acclaimed author Maxine Beneba Clarke hooks readers from the start in one of the best new books of 2017.

What People are Saying: "Maxine Beneba Clarke is a powerful and fearless storyteller, and this collection—written with exquisite sensitivity and yet uncompromising—will stay with you with the force of elemental truth. Clarke is the real deal, and will, if we're lucky, be an essential voice in world literature for years to come." - Author Dave Eggers

Available on Amazon.

Swimming Lessons, by Claire Fuller

The book Swimming Lessons is one you should open for the first time on a long flight; this suspenseful page-turner will keep you engrossed, and the time will fly by. The book's plot centers on the mysterious potential reappearance of a woman who supposedly drowned years ago—but the only witness to her reappearance is her potentially senile husband.

What People are Saying: "As she did in her first novel, Our Endless Numbered Days (2015), Fuller proves to be a master of temporal space, taking readers through flashbacks and epistolary chapters at a pace timed to create wonder and suspense. It’s her beautiful prose, though, that rounds this one out, as she delves deeply to examine the legacies of a flawed and passionate marriage." - Booklist

Available on Amazon.

More from SmarterTravel:

Caroline Morse is always in the middle of a good book, and would love to hear your recommendations on what to read next! Follow her on Instagram TravelWithCaroline and on Twitter @CarolineMorse1 for photos from around the world.

We hand-pick everything we recommend and select items through testing and reviews. Some products are sent to us free of charge with no incentive to offer a favorable review. We offer our unbiased opinions and do not accept compensation to review products. All items are in stock and prices are accurate at the time of publication. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission.