My 2016 Reading Round-Up

 

By the time the clock strikes midnight and marks the end of 2016, I will have read more than 240 titles in 2016, a number that sounds more impressive than it truly is.

Some were short stories or novellas, others were children’s books or titles published for the young adult market. And only a dozen of the books were non-fiction. In years past, many of the books I read were titles read for the second (or third or more) time. This year, only four books qualified as a re-read.

Reading can be an expensive hobby if one does not take advantage of an amazing community resource — the public library. Most of the books I read in 2016 were titles checked out from libraries, and I checked out more than 70 of those titles digitally. If you have an e-reader, download the Overdrive app and start checking out e-books too.

This year, the majority of the books I devoured belonged to a series, more than 150 titles. I discovered eight new series this year. I also fell in love with a book translated from Spanish and continue to add titles to my reading wish list on Goodreads.com. With more than 1,000 books on the list, I long for a job that pays me to read.

 2016 by the Numbers:

Total Books: 242

Mystery: 41

Romance: 85

Non-Fiction: 12

Sci Fi/Fantasy/Paranormal:  43

Young Adult/Children:   28

Novellas: 5

Re-reads: 4

Books in a series: 162

 

Authors Read the Most:

Jennifer Estep: 13

Kevin Hearne: 12

Lauren Willig: 11

William Kent Krueger: 9

Susan Albert Wittig: 6

Julia Keller: 5

Victoria Dahl: 5

Here are 12 of the books I read in 2016 that continue to resonate with me.

 “A Killing in the Hills” by Julia Keller

 The first in Keller’s Bell Elkins mystery series, it features an attorney who moved back to her hometown in West Virginia and juggles single parenthood with serving as the district attorney. Keller is a Pulitzer-prize winning writer and former journalist who grew up in West Virginia. The books offer a dark tone and Keller’s love for her home state shines through. I devoured every book in the series and now seek to get my hands on the novellas that accompany the series.

 

“Everyone Brave is Forgiven” by Chris Cleave

 An epic tale set in Great Britain during World War II, the book features a heartbreaking love triangle centered around a young woman of privilege who wishes to serve her country. I could not put it down.

 

“Bad Feminist” by Roxane Gay

 A collection of funny and insightful essays from a writer, professor, editor and commentator. The essays include her take on Scrabble, growing up as a woman of color, pop culture and more. I admit my bias with this title, the author and I have friends in common as she also attended Michigan Technological University as a graduate student.

 

“The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah

 Another tale set during World War II, this time featuring two sisters living in the Nazi-occupied French countryside. The war tests the sisters’ relationship and finds them discovering new depths of bravery and sacrifice. Tears streamed down my cheeks while I finished it.

   

“The Legend of Lyon Redmond” by Julie Anne Long

 The 11th and final book in Long’s Pennyroyal Green series, featuring two feuding families and their friends in a small community in the English countryside. I devoured the first nine books in the series in 2015 and could not wait to get my hands on the final two. If you like romance, I highly recommend starting with the first book, “The Perils of Pleasure,” so you can better appreciate the “legend” revealed in this title.

 

“Written in Red” by Anne Bishop

 The first Bishop’s “Others” series set in an alternative world that resembles our own, only in this one shapeshifters, vampires and other creatures exist and are in charge of the resources. The series revolves around a young woman who can see the future, and runs away from those who exploit her gift. She finds a sanctuary among the “Others.” I enjoy books with a paranormal twist, and look forward to March, when the fifth book in the series should be released.

 

“Die for Me” by Amy Plum

 I love books set in the City of Lights, and this paranormal tale featuring a young woman who moves there after losing her parents hooked me from the start. If you know someone who liked the “Twilight” series, suggest this book to them. The writing and characters are superb.

   

“Iron Lake” by William Kent Krueger

 I enjoy mysteries and really love these thrilling books set in the Midwest. This is the first title in the “Cork O’Connor” series set in Northern Minnesota. I am now halfway through the series, as book 16 will come out in September 2017. The lead character is a former sheriff who is part Irish and part Anishinaabe Indian. A father of three, he delves into the darker side of his community in search of the truth.

 

“Furiously Happy: A Funny Book about Horrible Things” by Jenny Lawson

 The second book by the woman also known as “The Bloggess,” it takes readers on a journey through her mental health struggles and triumphs. I traveled to Milwaukee last year to meet Lawson during her book tour. I also follow her on Twitter and Facebook and her blog posts both speak to my soul and make me howl with laughter. I recommend listening to the audiobook version, read by the author.

 

“The Paris Winter” by Imogen Robertson

 A dark tale set in Belle Époque, Paris featuring a woman struggling as an art student who takes on a job to help makes ends meet that turns her life into a nightmare.

 

“Broken Harbor” by Tana French

 The fourth book in French’s “Dublin Murder Squad” series, this novel blends a police procedural with a psychological thriller as a detective and his partner try to solve the murder of a father and two children in a crime that left the mother in the hospital as a possible suspect. A brilliantly written book that leaves the reader haunted.

  

“The Little Paris Bookshop” by Nina George

 This book starts in Paris when a bookseller who calls himself a “literary apothecary” finally opens a letter from his great love, the only thing she left behind when she left him. He hauls anchor on his floating bookstore on a barge and sets out for the south of France, prescribing just the book a person needs to heal, but unable to heal himself.

 

“The Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

 Translated from Zafon’s original Spanish, this book features the son of an antiquarian book dealer. Set in Barcelona, a city still healing from the Spanish Civil War, the boy finds solace in a book written by a mysterious author. While seeking other titles by the author, the boy uncovers dark secrets of murder, madness and love.

 

These books represent just a fraction of the titles I read in 2016. My reading goals for 2017 include putting a bigger dent in the piles of books on my own bookshelves or in my e-reader that wait for me to crack open the cover. I plan to read more non-fiction in 2017 and continue to discover new authors and books that pull me in and don’t let go.

 What are you reading?