2016 Complete Reading List

 

reading
A complete list of the books I read in 2017, with links to buy.

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

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage

Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton

The Wonder by Emma Donoghue

Along the Infinite Sea by Beatriz Williams

Deep Work by Cal Newport

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

The Raft by S.A.Bodeen

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

Atonement by Ian McEwan

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

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

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

Gratitude by Oliver Sacks

An Uncommon Education by Elizabeth Percer

Among the Ten Thousand Things by Julia Pierpont

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

The Fever by Megan Abbott

Hammer Head: The Making of a Carpenter by Nina MacLaughlin

The Martian by Andy Weir

The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Me Before You by JoJo Moyes

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

Embrace the Beast by Mia West

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

Tall Order by Honoree Corder

Iterate & Optimize by Sterling & Stone

Zen and the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

Reader Magnets by Nick Stephenson

Writer Dad by Sean Platt

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 Thing by Gary Keller

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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