Best Books of 2016

Posted by on January 18, 2017 1:23 am in Blog, Book talk | 11 comments

Good day to you all, dear readers!

It took me a while but I finally did it, I pulled together a list of my favorite reads for 2016. Even though we are now past mid-January, I hope you guys will still enjoy my own little retrospective.

I’m starting with the best of the best, then best by categories, 2 honorable mentions and a small recap of 2016 with my goals for 2017.

Links to reviews(marked with *) or Goodreads links.

BEST OF THE BEST – TOP 4 of 2016

2016_1

The Fifth Seasonand The Obelisk Gateby N. K. Jemisin : N. K. Jemisin’s work blew me away. These are some of the best books I have ever read, and definitely new favorites. I loved everything about them. As I said in my review : It felt immense, it felt beautiful. I’ll be rereading them, for sure, and I can’t wait for the third and final book to come out in this August.

2016_2

Belgraviaby Julian Fellowes : Belgravia is a charming historical fiction written with wit and greatly detailed. The tone definitely has something of Downton Abbey, and it was just a very pleasant and entertaining read. It had its flaws, but it had just enough of everything I loved that I didn’t mind them!

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry Augustby Claire North : Intricate, thrilling, philosophical and evocative, these are all words I would use to describe this new favorite. This book made me think about life a lot, just as much as it intrigued me with its time travel plot. Loved it.

 

BEST AUDIOBOOKS

2016_3

The Midnight Starby Marie Lu & read by Carla Corvo & Lannon Killea : This was such a thrilling conclusion to an amazing and dark YA fantasy series. Carla Corvo did an amazing job of creating the character of Adelina, and she will always be Adelina for me. I loved every minute of it!

Hidden Bodiesby Caroline Kepnes & read by Santino Fontana : This is a bit of a surprising pick for my list of favorites, as I really didn’t enjoyed the story as much as I did You. But once again, Santino Fontana did one of the best narrations I’ve ever listened to, so it easily wins its spot on this list!

 

BEST COMIC / GRAPHIC NOVEL

2016_4

Rat Queens by Kurtis J. Wiebe & Roc Upchurch : This fantasy story has humor, action, a great plot and amazing characters. The first volume is definitely the best, but the following two are still very entertaining.

Giant Days by Allison, Treiman & Cogar : This slice of life comic about young women in college is amazing. Told with lots of humor, the story still feels very true. Again, the first volume was by far the best, but I also really enjoyed the next two.

 

BEST YA SCI-FI / FANTASY

2016_9

Illuminae Gemina by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff : The first two books of this sci-fi trilogy told through reports, chats, emails and so on, entertained me immensely. The format is great, but the story stands on its own. These are filled with action, emotion, adventure and cool science-fiction themes. I am really looking forward to the conclusion coming this year!

2016_8

The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski : I read the whole trilogy early this year, and enjoyed every part of it. This one is full of twists, adventure, romance and, most of all, gorgeous writing. I haven’t reviewed the conclusion yet, but you can read what I thought of book one and two. In any case, I thought the ending was really good.

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer : One of my last books of 2016! It had been about a year since I read Cinder, and I had really enjoyed it (it was on my 2015 list), but I think I loved Scarlet even more. I’ll try and have a proper review up soon.

 

BEST YA CONTEMPORARY

2016_5

The Female of the Speciesby Mindy McGinnis : Ignore the quirky cover and pick this book if you want to read something different, violent, important. This story about a vengeful teenager killer has complex topics (rape, sexuality and grief, to name a few) and good writing.

Exit, Pursued by a Bearby E. K. Johnston : This story about rape was told with great compassion, and one of the best I have read on the topic. It felt important, and despite its difficult topic, it left me sort of hopeful.

 

BEST SPECULATIVE FICTION

2016_7

The Ice Dragonby George R. R. Martin : Enchanting and gorgeously illustrated, this children’s dragon story absolutely charmed me, from beginning to end.

Sleeping Giantsby Sylvain Neuvel : This one was full of wonder. Told in an interview format, this story about strange buried relics fascinated me. The next book in the series is coming this spring and it will be a must-buy once it’s out!

BEST THRILLERS

2016_6

All the Missing Girlsby Megan Miranda : I’ve read a lot of mysteries and psychological thrillers this year (as always), many of them very good or captivating, but among them all, All the Missing Girls is one that really stood out. The narration told from end to beginning was extremely fun, but the story and its characters were good on their own too.

Dark Matterby Blake Crouch : This one could also be in the speculative fiction, as there’s a strong science-fiction element at its heart. But it is the thriller aspect of it that I really, really appreciated. Dark Matter is full of action and there’s not one boring moment. A complete thriller from beginning to end, it felt like a movie on paper. I greatly enjoyed it!

HONORABLE MENTIONS

2016_10

Uprooted by Naomi Novik : I’ve rarely wanted to love a book this desperately. Uprooted received glorious, five stars reviews from most of the readers and bloggers I know and follow. Readers with very different tastes who all adored this book. While some parts didn’t work for me, I loved some of it and I can see why it was so popular. I do want to try it again some day.

Throne of Glassby Sarah J. Maas : This year I read two of the books and the novellas of the Throne of Glass series, and I really enjoyed them. They’re extremely full of drama, twists, romance and action, but they’re just so much fun. Pure entertainment! I wouldn’t consider them favorites, but they definitely took my mind off difficult stuff when I needed it!

Moving from 2016 to 2017 

2016 was okay in terms of reading. 140 books is good (not counting those I’m halfway through, those I abandoned or put aside, etc.) I’m glad I found some new favorites, but overall my reading year felt a little “blah”. I’m not sure if that’s coming from the books or from me though, and that’s something I want to think about in the early months of 2017.

My initial plans for 2016 were to read what I want, when I want, and I definitely did that. I read many things at once, and picked and dropped books whenever I felt like it (perhaps a tad too much). I also wanted to continue/complete series that were on my shelves, and I did a bit of that, enough to feel like I fulfilled my personal objective. Go me!

2017 should be a bit more of the same. I definitely want to read freely, and to continue/complete series from my shelves. I’ve put my goals at 100 books again : I started keeping track of my reading in 1999 as a young teen, and only once have I read under 100 since. But 2017 might be the second time this happens, as I’d like to read some of the thicker books on my shelves. I don’t see this as a potential failure though, more of an interesting statistic. I’d also like to read a bit more literary fiction/adult general fiction. While my 4 best of the best books scratched that literary itch, I feel the need to read some more of it.

Most of all, I want to have fun, be amazed, learn things, open my mind to new things.

Let’s see what 2017 has in store!

 You can see more about my reading year on Goodreads!

Though a bit late, I wish you all an amazing year of reading – and if you feel like it, let me know about your favorite book of 2016! 🙂

11 Comments

  1. Hidden Bodies is the only one on your list I’ve read and I agree with you completely.

    • Yes, I remember your review! I think “You” was just so unique at the time, its sequel had a lot to live up to. Still had fun with it. I wonder what the author will offer us next!

  2. That first series you mention sounds fascinating! I’ve put the audio on hold at my library and have added it to goodreads to check out! Thanks!

    I hope 2017 brings you a less blah year. I’ve had some of those reading years and sometimes there’s just no getting around it no matter what you do!

    • Thank you Amanda, I do hope 2017 is better in every way.

      I’d love to hear your thoughts on The Fifth Season, I know I loved it but some people have been put off by some aspects of it (the part of the narration that’s in second person, or the very grey characters). I’ve listened to an excerpt of the audio and it sounded good, I might reread them by listening in a near future!

  3. So many good books on this list. I read The Midnight Star in print, but I bet it would be great on audio.

    If you want to focus on longer reads this year, maybe try keeping a pages read tally as well as a books read total?

    • A pages read tally is a great idea. I usually keep track of it in my stats anyway, but hadn’t thought of using it as my main goal. Thanks!

  4. You read some really great stuff in 2016! I hope 2017 seems a bit better and not so ‘blah’ overall!

    • Thank you! I feel good about the year overall, despite this “blah” feeling. I hope that with some time I’ll be able to look back on 2016 more positively.

  5. I really loved the audio of Hidden Bodies too.

  6. Glad to see Belgravia on your list. I bought it when it came out but still haven’t had a chance to read it! I’ll make it a goal for this year 🙂

  7. I have not read any of these titles but the list is well organized and introduced me to some to consider. Thanks for sharing.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

%d bloggers like this: