Favorite Books 2016

Here we are again...time for a new end of the year Favorite Books list! I'll admit that this year has found me in something of a reading slump, particularly during these past few months. Usually I read over 80 books by this time in the year, but this year I've only gotten to 58! I just haven't been feeling it as much unfortunately. In fact, there may even be books I've read this year that I would have thought were amazing had I read them at a different time but this year I just thought were okay. I'm hopeful 2017 starts off with some really great reads that can get me back in to the swing of things! With that said though, there are some that I've read this year that stand out from the rest.

FICTION:

The Lake House by Kate Morton - I have really enjoyed all of Kate Morton's novels and this one does not disappoint. It's very twisty and clever and I kept thinking I knew what was going on but then I was wrong. I did pick out one major plot point, but only one out of a dozen or more. I loved how there were several different running story lines, The Bailey Case, Sadie's "history" and the Edevane mystery running all at once but they worked well together and were used to give clues as to the main mystery of the book. Also, the writing style is beautiful. I usually read very quickly but this one I kept re-reading lines and whole paragraphs just because I liked how well they were written. Some people will complain that it wraps up too nicely at the end and that all the answers come together too easily, but who needs that kind of negativity in their life!

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng - I don't want to say much about this one and give anything away. The first sentence, however, happens to be "Lydia is dead." so I guess that lets you know it's not a fluffy fairy tale! I do love a catchy first line though! Definitely have some tissues handy for the ending.

The Martian by Andy Weir - I know you're saying "I don't need to read that, I already saw the movie." Well, you're wrong. The movie is good but it misses SO many details and really important events. I was a little unsure going into it if I would like this book. I had heard it was very technical with the science details and I was hoping I wouldn't be hopelessly lost...not being a botanist, chemist, astrophysicist or engineer...you know?! And while it does explain a lot of the scientific details it is generally followed up with an interpretation in laymans language so you do mostly understand what's going on. The main character, Mark, is quite a funny guy which keeps this how-can-he-possibly-survive story from being depressing. I ended up not being able to put this book down and read the whole thing in just a few days. Side note: if you are offended by adult language this is not the book for you.

The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes - This book is all about a girl escaping a religious cult and it is fascinating. The mind games people play are incredible! I hadn't read anything like this before.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton - Here's my should-have-read-this-in-middle-school pick for the year. I loved this book! The writing is great, the story is great, the characters are fantastic, and of course the moral of the story resonates no matter who you are or where you live. We have all felt like "outsiders" at some point in our lives. I minored in sociology in college so this book appealed to me in that way too. Why do we break off into separate social groups and why is it so hard to see the similarities in all people. Ponyboy was wise beyond his years! Brilliant book. I absolutely cannot believe it was written by a 15 year old! "Stay Gold, Ponyboy."

What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman - This is another tear jerker type story. It's about a woman who's put in an insane asylum and the different therapies used to treat her. Really sad but oddly fascinating! Some people in my book group hated it but I liked it. There are a few holes in the plot that I thought could have been remedied pretty easily but were not.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepatys - a companion novel to Between Shades of Grey which has made this list before. It's about refugees during World War II. If you like historical fiction then you need to read it. I had never heard of the events that took place in this book and yet it seems like a pretty significant event that has somehow been eclipsed by all the other atrocities of World War II. The book follows a group of mostly young people who are evacuating the war torn areas of Europe. Each of them has secrets and regrets and yet they find ways to stay strong throughout everything.

The Bartenders Tale by Ivan Doig - Honestly there wasn't a riveting plot in this book and yet I thoroughly enjoyed it. The writing is funny and creative and full of ol' timer sayings that made me smile. The way sentences are worded is very original. It is a fascinating picture of one year (1960) in the life of a twelve year old boy, his dad, and his best friend. I couldn't help but think this is the kind of book my dad could write about his childhood during the same era.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood -I actually started reading this several years ago and didn't like it enough to keep reading. I don't know why I stopped, but after having heard it mentioned by several other people who's literary judgment I respect, I decided to give it another go. And this time I found it absolutely fascinating! Disturbing, yes, but so much to think about. A woman as a natural resource, sex in a very unsexualized way, supreme control over a woman's body by outside forces. A completely different take on the futuristic dystopian written before dystopians were as common as skinned knees on little boys. The ending though.....I'm still processing what I thought about that.

On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta - This book is so very confusing in the beginning. I almost gave up on it but read some reviews that convinced me to keep going. I honestly was pretty clueless for the first 100 or so pages. Then the pieces all start to fit together and it becomes a great book. In fact, I went back and re-read the first 50 pages when I was done and had so many aha! moments! It's worth slogging through the confusing bits, I promise!

The Life we Bury by Allan Eskens - Go ahead and add this to your list of good mystery novels. It was a bit predictable, a bit unbelievable in sections, but overall very entertaining. It was fast paced and felt more multidimensional because there were several story lines being worked through at the same time (Carl in Vietnam, Joe's dysfunctional family, and the Chrystal Hagen story.) Great debut novel.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by John Tiffany - I'd read a lot of reviews that made this sound like the worst piece of garbage ever written. I disagree! While it's not on the same level as the original series it is still a great read. It's funny and has some good character development. It's fun to see Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Draco in their roles as parents and adults. Entertaining and a quick read. I thought I would hate the screen play style but it worked. 


NONFICTION:


The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan - This is about the building of the atom bomb during World War II and the people who built it. Only a few at the highest clearance rating had any idea of what they were doing. It was slightly repetitious but very interesting.

The Art of Happiness by Howard Cutler - This is based on interviews with the Dalai Llama. It gives a basic overview of Buddhism but is more of a guide for living with compassion and trying to create more peaceful relationships.

Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery by Russell Freedman - Eleanor was such a powerful political figure in a time when women were expected to be serving tea and making social calls. Such a fascinating woman! She was very much ahead of her time in women's issues, civil rights, and politics in general.

Doc by Mary Doria Russell - This one belongs in that murky grey zone between fiction and nonfiction. Technically, it's probably fiction but it seems more like a very readable nonfiction (and since this is MY list I will classify it however I want!) Doc was an interesting person who lived a very hard life. The book also talks a lot about other famous people from the Wild West era, such as Wyatt Earp and his brothers, and the Masterson brothers. Just the up close look at life in the newly settled west is fascinating. This is probably something I wouldn't have thought to pick up without the recommendation of a friend, but glad that I did.


FAMILY BOOK CLUB BOOKS: My favorites are the ones in bold. We read a silly book (Mr. Lemoncello) a Chinese folktale book (Starry River) two books about refuges (Esperanza - Hispanics and Shooting Kabul - Muslims) and two books about kids with disabilities (Paperboy - stuttering, Fish in a Tree - dyslexia.) Overall, a pretty diverse lineup this year!

Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics
Starry River of the Sky
Esperanza Rising
Paperboy
Fish in a Tree
Shooting Kabul

Ahhh...finished at last! And if you don't find anything of interest here check out my lists from previous years. Apparently I've been doing this annual list for 6 years now! Crazy how time flies! 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010