Here you are, friends, a list of the books I read in 2016, complete with links so you can buy them for yourselves. I’m a giver.
I read 76 books in 2016, which is pretty standard for me. I like to alternate between big fat bricks and shorter, easier reads. I never set actual reading goals, but it always seems to average out to about 1.5 books a week.
The overall quality was awesome. I lost a whole lot of sleep in order to finish some of these beauties. Technically, all of the books on this list are my ‘favorites’ of the year, because I never ever finish a book I don’t like. EVER. That might horrify thlose of you who are determined to finish every book you start, but for me it comes down to this: Life is too short for me to read all the books I like. I don’t have time, patience, or energy for a book I don’t love.
On that note, I don’t keep track of the books I start but don’t finish, but I’d guess that number to be at least 100 additional books. We visit the library almost every week, and I generally take out 5-10 books at a time. I’ll give a book about 50 pages and if it’s not grabbing me, I move on to the next one.
I had a fairly good mix of genres this year. The majority was literary and contemporary fiction. But of course there was a lot of romance, a few mysteries, and even some Urban Fantasy. There is also a pretty big dose of business, writing and/or self help books, because I’m a big fan of sucking less with each passing day.
One surprise (to me): I didn’t re-read any Jane Austen or E.M. Forster at all. In fact, this year’s list is very light on the classics. I’ll remedy that in January, which is the best month to hunker down with something old fashioned.
Now it’s your turn. What did you read this year? What were your favorites? What do you think of my reading list? Anything I should put on my 2017 list? Hit me up in the comments or shoot me an e-mail so we can talk about all the books!
MY VERY FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR
The One in a Million Boy by Monica Wood
Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Ofill
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage
Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton
Along the Infinite Sea by Beatriz Williams
Another Brooklyn by Jaqueline Woodson
My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
The Truth About Awiti by CP Patrick
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
BOOKS MY KIDS LOVED AND ASKED ME TO READ
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
You Can’t See the Elephants by Susan Kreller
Searching for Sky by Jillian Cantor
BOOKS I HAVE READ BEFORE AND NEVER GET TIRED OF RE-READING
I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett
The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Write. Publish. Repeat. By Sterling & Stone
BOOKS THAT ARE PART OF A SERIES
Still Life (Chief Inspector Gamache Book 1) by Louise Penny
A Fatal Grace (Chief Inspector Gamache Book 2) by Louise Penny
The Cruelest Month (Chief Inspector Gamache Book 3) by Louise Penny
A Rule Against Murder (Chief Inspector Gamache Book 4) by Louise Penny
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by JK Rowling, Jack Thorne, John Tiffany
The Beginning: Jessica Christ Book 1 by H. Claire Taylor
It Was Good: Jessica Christ, Book 2 by H. Claire Taylor
It’s a Miracle! Jessica Christ Book 3 by H. Claire Taylor
Magic Awakenings: The Spirit War Chronicles Book 1 by Stephen Allan
Magic Revenge: The Spirit War Chronicles Book 2 by Stephen Allan
Three Sisters, Three Queens by Phillipa Gregory
AWESOME BOOKS THAT DON’T FIT INTO OTHER CATEGORIES
An Uncommon Education by Elizabeth Percer
Among the Ten Thousand Things by Julia Pierpont
Hammer Head: The Making of a Carpenter by Nina MacLaughlin
The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
The Woman in Cabin Ten by Ruth Ware
Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
Carry On,Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton
Everyone’s Reading Bastard by Nick Hornby
ROMANCES
Never Never, Books One, Two, and Three by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher
FU Cancer by Hilaria Alexander
Exploring Her Boundaries by Elena Darke
Royal Heartbreaker by Ember Casey and Renna Peak
Secrets on the Sand by Roxanne St. Claire
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
Operation Prince Charming by Phyllis Bourne
BOOKS ABOUT WRITING, BUSINESS, OR BEING A BADASS
Prosperity for Writers by Honoree Corder
Iterate & Optimize by Sterling & Stone
Zen and the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury
Reader Magnets by Nick Stephenson
Nail Your Story by Monica Leonelle
Write Better, Faster by Monica Leonelle
The Epic Series One, Two, Three, and Four by Johnny B. Truant
How to Be a Writer in the E-Age by Catherine Ryan Hyde and Anne R. Allen
The Successful Author Mindset by Joanna Penn
The Miracle Morning for Writers by Hal Elrod & Honoree Corder
The One With All the Writing Advice by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant
Why We Write, edited by Meredith Maran
100 Pep Talks by Elise Blaha Cripe
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson
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