We all know I’m a book nerd. I’d even go so far as to say I’m a bibliophile, addicted to books, on the verge of having a reading problem. I’d say I’m on the road to recovery, but we all know I’d end up at the library.
This year I had a goal to read 52 books; a book for each week of the year. I’m glad to report I not only met my goal, but exceeded it! Bam! Take that, 2016!
I keep a list of each book I read every year for two reasons. Firstly, I have accidentally checked out the same book on multiple occasions, not realizing I’d already read it. Secondly, I read a book in sixth grade that I adored and have yet been able to remember the title of, despite several years of working as a bookseller and searching the inventory system high and low, and despite my and Google’s best efforts to locate it, it eludes me still. So for the past several years, I’ve kept a list of what I’ve been reading so I can reference it later if I can’t remember the title or author.
Without further ado, here are the books and short stories I read in 2016.
- Angel Falls, Kristin Hannah
- The Girl Who Fell from the sky, Heidi Durrow
- The Memory Thief, Emily Colin
- The Diary, Eileen Goudge
- No place like home, Barbara O’Neal
- Chez Stinky, Susan Daffron
- Isle of the Lost, Melissa De la Cruz
- Picture This, Jacqueline Sheehan
- A Paris Apartment Michelle Gable
- Fakers, Meg Collett
- Best of Enemies, Jen Lancaster
- When the Cypress Whispers, Yvette Corporon
- Little Bee, Chris Cleave
- The Demigod Diaries, Rick Riordan
- Flawed, Cecelia Ahern
- It’s Not Me, It’s You; Mhairi McFarlane
- The Sword of Summer, Rick Riordan
- Three Wishes, Lianne Moriarty
- The Weekenders, Mary Kay Andrews
- Out of the Spin Cycle, Jen Hatmaker
- The Art of Crash Landing, Melissa DeCarlo
- Little Beach Street Bakery, Jenny Colgan
- The Crown of Ptolemy, Rick Riordan
- 7, Jen Hatmaker
- The Alchemyst, Michael Scott
- Love and Gelato, Jenna Evans Welch
- Things Left Unspoken, Eva Marie Everson
- The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove, Susan Gregg Gilmor
- For the Love, Jen Hatmaker
- The Race for Paris, Meg Waite Clayton
- The Magician, Michael Scott
- How to Eat a Cupcake, Meg Donahue
- Falling, Jane Green
- The Beach House, Georgia Bockoven
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, JK Rowling
- Where’d You Go, Bernadette? , Maria Semple
- The Chaperone, Laura Moriarty
- The Sorceress, Michael Scott
- Thrice the Brinded Cat hath Mew’d, Alan Bradley
- The Wedding Dress, Rachel Hauk
- The Necromancer, Michael Scott
- The Death of Joan of Arc, Michael Scott
- The Warlock, Michael Scott
- Billy the Kid and the Vampyres of Vegas, Michael Scott
- The Enchantress, Michael Scott
- Two by Two, Nicholas Sparks
- A Vintage Affair, Isabel Wolff
- Trials of Apollo, Rock Riordan
- Change of Scene, Mary Kay Andrews
- Instructions for a Heat Wave, Maggie O’Farrell
- The Sock Wars, Maia Sepp
- The Garden of Happy Endings, Barbara O’Neal
- Scrappy Little Nobody, Anna Kendrick
- Arf, Spencer Quinn
I was reading Amy Schumer’s memoir, Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, but didn’t finish it. 2016 marked a lot of change for me, in that I finally decided to stop reading a book that didn’t hold my attention and make me want to pick it back up. I KNOW! Typically I have a little OCD about not finishing things, and I particularly dislike not finishing books. I (foolishly, irrationally) feel like the characters in any book are stuck in whatever situation they’re in when I close the cover for the day, so I don’t like to leave them in mortal danger or awaiting potentially terrible news. This is why I finish books so quickly and never get any sleep.
So, favorite of the year. Anything by Barbara O’Neal was incredible, and I’m a tad obsessed with her (but in a totally non-stalker-y way, in case she wants to be besties). Where’d You Go, Bernadette? was one of my favorites, for sure, as was Arf. As you can see, I tend to read an author’s entire catalogue, so when I discovered Jen Hatmaker I went on a bit of a binge. I adore her and her ‘life is for real so here’s what it really looks like’ take on life. She’s hilarious, and loving, and making the world a better place.
Irish author Cecelia Ahern is another favorite, and her new young adult series is fabulous so far. If I had a Top 10 of 2016 books list, Flawed would definitely be on it. Mary Kay Andrews is another beloved author, and she had a novel and novella come out this year, so I was one happy camper.
I’m not sure what my reading goal for 2017 will be. I’m honestly still kind of reeling that 2016 is over; I’ve been ill since Christmas and time has been rather foggy, so I keep forgetting it’s 2017. This is the year my oldest starts preschool. This is a year of change. There will be a lot of adjustments and learning for all of us, and books are my adult version of a security blanket. I’ll keep you updated on what I’m reading!
Did you read anything wonderful last year? I’m always looking for recommendations! I highly recommend BookBub- they email you daily ebook deals in the genres/authors of your choosing. I don’t have an endless book budget (or endless storage space on my Nook!), so I keep a list of books I want to read from BookBub and check the eBooks out from the library. You can also recommend books to the library. I feel a bit like a literary rock star every time they buy a book I’ve recommended!
Paw Prints in the Sink 
