It's also been a year of fewer books than I've read in a long time. 95 total, according to Goodreads, and I think that's over by a few, because it counts things that I mark as discarded in the middle (which I don't count). But taking 95 as the number, 25 of those were comics, which, given how easy it is to zip through one of those, I kind of consider that a different list. Leaving 70 novels. For comparison, last year I read 173 total, 69 of which comics, meaning 104 novels.
I blame the fanfiction. I've read well over 10 novel-length fics this year, but Goodreads doesn't know how to count those. I'm not even sure how to track back through how many of those I read, but if you then count the short ones--well, it was really a lot of pages.
My best-ofs have already been covered here, for the most part (or will be soon, I hope!), but for the purpose of posterity (and of offer someone else the delight of reading a blog post listing a bunch of good books), here's a list:
Uprooted, by Naomi Novik (Rich and personal and beautiful fantasy)
Illuminae, by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman (Perfect roller coaster of action and emotion and real thoughtfulness)
The Imperial Radch, by Ann Leckie (Possibly the best science fiction series ever)
Castle Hangnail, by Ursula Vernon (Haven't blogged this yet, but it was SO much fun)
Pip Bartlett's Guide to Magical Creatures, by Jackson Pearce and Maggie Stiefvater (Bright, sassy, and a ton of fun)
Hexed, by Michael Alan Nelson (They say Lucifer is the next Buffy, and they might be right)
Wild, by Cheryl Strayed (Human vulnerability has never been so powerful or personal)
Cuckoo Song, by Frances Hardinge (Pure storytelling, unexpected and inevitable)
The Scorpion Rules, by Erin Bow (I will follow Erin Bow anywhere; here it was a pleasure)
Jenny Lawson in general (I can't believe I didn't blog these! Her memoirs are the BEST audiobooks--hilarious and so perfectly delivered.)
There's so much I could say about how great the last few months of reading have been, and how tough it was to pick favorites. But mostly I'm feeling overwhelmed by the AMAZING books that are being recommended elsewhere, and I really just want to go read more. So I'll just sign off and say happy new year!
2 comments:
So many people loved Uprooted! I admit I didn't feel super-compelled to read it because I lost steam on the Temeraire novels I think in the third book (after loving the first two). But I clearly have to give this one a try.
Here's to more great reads in 2016!
Oh, I had the exact same reaction to Temeraire. I loved the first book, liked the second, and drifted off in them middle of the third, never to return. This is much more like the first book (pacing-wise; not at all similar in tone or story). Definitely a lovely book.
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