Top 10 Books of 2016

Is it just me or did this year go by really quickly? I didn’t get much reading in compared to last year, but it still was a good reading year. I read a lot of books that I enjoyed and found some new favorites. I can’t say that I adventured far away from the fantasy genre, however. I still need to work on expanding my horizons. Only two out of the top ten books of 2016 are not fantasy/sci-fi. I read a bit more than just two non-fantasy novels this year, but my list clearly shows that I read mainly fantasy. Who’s surprised? No one? Yeah, me neither.

Hopefully I’ll find more books to read next year that aren’t fantasy, but old habits die hard.

10. Beastly Bones by William Ritter

I love the Jackaby series because it reminds me a lot of Sherlock without feeling like it’s copying the stories. It refreshing to read something light after all the heavy fantasy reading I do. I wish I could join Jackaby and Abigail on their adventures because they seem super exciting. I would never be bored if I hung around them. (review)

9. Oblivion by Jennifer L. Armentrout

While I was reading the Lux series, the one thing I wanted was the stories in Daemon’s point of view. This book is exactly that, and it’s a dream come true. If you get the Kindle version, you’ll get the first three books instead of just the first book in Daemon’s perspective. It is 1,005 pages of pure Daemon. Who wouldn’t want that? (review)

8. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

A lot of people compare this book to the Harry Potter series, and I have to admit, there are some similarities. However, Carry On is it’s own story, and has little to no similarities in that regard. Sure, both Harry Potter and Carry On have a magical private school and the main characters are similar, but other than that, everything else is different. I feel like after the Harry Potter series got published, a lot of authors were afraid of writing stories with magical private schools in them in fear of being accused of copying J.K. Rowling. Apparently, Rainbow Rowell (I just realized both authors have similar last names) isn’t afraid of that and I’m glad. It’s refreshing to read a book that isn’t Harry Potter with wand magic in it. (review)

7. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

I love reading WWII books, whether they are fictional or true. When I heard that this was about WWII, I immediately picked it up because I was intrigued on how it was told. The story is told from the perspective of a blind French girl and a young German orphan. Most of the time, the stories about WWII are in the perspective of the Jews. It was interesting to see the war in a different point of view. (review)

6. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

The way this story was written caught my attention when I saw in on Book Tube. Instead of normal chapters, Illuminae is written in files, messaging conversations, articles, etc. It took a bit getting used to, but once I got the hang of it, it was easy to read. It also helped that I listened to part of it on audiobook. (review)

5. Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

I loved Cassandra Clare’s other Shadowhunter series (The Mortal Instruments / The Infernal Devices), so of course I was excited when I heard this was coming out this year. And of course I read it the minute I had a copy in my possession. Out of the three series, this one is up there with The Infernal Devices. (review)

4. Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

I love the Throne of Glass series, but I have to admit this wasn’t my most favorite book that I read this year. Out of the five books that are out in this series, the fourth one (Queen of Shadows) is still my favorite. I feel like part of the reason I didn’t enjoy it as much as the others is because I left a big time gap in between when I was reading it. I started it one month, stopped, and picked it up again a month later. (review)

3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I don’t like classics. I’ve never had a good experience reading them. As a child I was forced to read some classics and hated it. I don’t like not having a choice, which was why I didn’t like reading the classics. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I read To Kill a Mockingbird. It didn’t bore me to death, or got me annoyed. I actually enjoyed it. A lot, judging how I put it at my third best book I read this year. (review)

2. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

I liked the first book, A Court of Thorns and Roses, a lot. I didn’t think it could get any better, but it did. I don’t know how Sarah J. Maas does it, making something so great even better. I know I treat Sarah J. Maas like a queen on my blog, but if you don’t like the Throne of Glass series, I’m sure you might like the A Court of Thorns and Roses series (if you like romance, that is). I’ve been obsessing with all my ACOMAF OTPs ever since I finished the book. I even joined Tumblr just because I wanted to join in on the ACOTAR fangirling. That’s how much I loved this book. (review)

1. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

I put this at the number one spot because I loved everything about this book. The world, the characters, the plot, everything. I like crazy geniuses, and Kaz Brekker is definitely a crazy genius. Ever since I picked this book up, I haven’t shut up about it to my friends. I still talk about it now even though it’s been several months since I finished it. There was a lot of hype surrounding this book (come on, it has black edged paper!), and the hype is totally valid. If you haven’t read this book, you’re missing out. (review)

What are some of your top picks of this year?

Do you agree with my list? Disagree?

What are some of your bookish goals for next year?

Until next time….