Sunday, January 01, 2017

2016 - the year in books

Still not posting a lot and living in my head a little bit too much, but it all feels right at the moment so I'm just going with it. Couldn't miss out on posting a list of books, though, even if it feels like 2016 has definitely been another lacklustre year for reading. With the stress of the move, however, I actually spend long periods of time essentially reading nothing at all. I should get myself some books of short stories for periods like that in the future. For times when I had a bit more time again but still not much in the way of mental capacity to take in anything new, I did a lot of re-reading in 2016.

Looking back at the new books on this list it really was all pretty forgettable. The stand-out was definitely Radical Homemakers. I had heard so many people raving about this book that I nearly didn't get it. So often when that happens, even if it's a good book, it just can't measure up to the hype. I may not agree with absolutely everything in it (mostly stemming from growing up in a more socialist than purely capitalist environment, I think) but I've marked about a gazillion pages to take notes from and just have to go ahead and join all of those who have raved about this book. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. I'll be re-reading it in 2017 and trying to get some of my reactions down on paper.

I didn't manage to read even a single German book, although I did start one which I will finish soon (had to bring it back to the library before I was finished). Like last year, I also read quite a lot of romance novels - all part of the research/procrastination process as preparation for writing my own. I did actually write a few pages this year so there will be even more reading of romance novels in 2017 and hopefully a whole lot more writing, too. Just need to find some more euphemisms for penis, 'cos the internet is full of slang terms for penis but not so much euphemisms and there's only so many times you can say throbbing member.

If you're interested in seeing lists for previous years, click 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 or 2010. I haven't yet seen a bloghop-type thing started on bookpunks this year but if you're posting a list of books that you've read this year, or about your favourite book or similar, feel free to comment here. I love books and I love lists so the more the merrier.

(BC) = Book club books (barely got book club restarted in 2016 before I ended up moving away)
(RR) = something I've re-read - there are some books, such as by Georgette Heyer, that I invariably read every year when the escapism of new fiction isn't enough and I want to escape into familiar stories that always make me laugh or cry.


  1. Having the Cowboy's Baby - Judy Duarte
  2. How to Build a Girl - Caitlin Moran
  3. No Dress Rehearsal - Marian Keyes
  4. Seedless in Seattle - Ross O'Carroll Kelly as told to Paul Howard
  5. The Husband She'd Never Met - Barbara Hannay
  6. The Widow's Bachelor Bargain - Teresa Southwick
  7. Unlocking Her Boss's Heart - Christy McKellan
  8. This year it will be different - Maeve Binchy
  9. If you could see me now - Cecelia Ahern
  10. Steelheart - Brandon Sanderson
  11. The Way of Kings - Brandon Sanderson
  12. Tickling the English - Dara O'Briain
  13. Words of Radiance - Brandon Sanderson
  14. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - Helen Simonson
  15. We are all completely beside ourselves - Karen Joy Fowler (BC)
  16. Firefight - Brandon Sanderson
  17. The 8-week blood sugar diet - Michael Mosley
  18. Out of the shelter - David Lodge
  19. Calamity - Brandon Sanderson
  20. Burial Rites - Hannah Kent (BC)
  21. Cooked - Michael Pollan
  22. A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin (RR)
  23. A Clash of Kings - George R.R. Martin (RR)
  24. A Storm of Swords Part 1, Steel & Snow - George R.R. Martin (RR)
  25. A Storm of Swords Part 2, Blood & Gold - George R.R. Martin (RR)
  26. A Feast for Crows - George R.R. Martin (RR)
  27. A Dance with Dragons Part 1, Dreams & Dust - George R.R. Martin (RR)
  28. A Dance with Dragons Part 2, After the Feast - George R.R. Martin (RR)
  29. Cinderella on his Doorstep - Rebecca Waters
  30. Mr. Right, Next Door! - Barbara Wallace
  31. Soldier on her Doorstep - Soraya Lane
  32. Words of Radiance - Brandon Sanderson
  33. Intense Blue - Lynn Wood
  34. Poison Study - Maria V. Synder
  35. Magic Study - Maria V. Synder
  36. Fire Study - Maria V. Synder
  37. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (RR)
  38. The Kerry Babies Case: A Woman to Blame - Nell McCafferty
  39. Do you know who's dead? - Paddy Duffy
  40. Blink - Malcolm Gladwell
  41. The Rowan - Anne McCaffrey (RR)
  42. Damia - Anne McCaffrey (RR)
  43. Regency Buck - Georgette Heyer (RR)
  44. The Toll-Gate - Georgette Heyer (RR)
  45. The Masqueraders - Georgette Heyer (RR)
  46. Lady of Quality - Georgette Heyer (RR)
  47. Unlocking her Boss's Heart - Christy McKellen (RR)
  48. The Fix-It Man - Vicki Lewis Thompson (RR)
  49. Serendipity - Judith McWilliams (RR)
  50. Hero at Heart - JoAnn Ross (RR)
  51. Bath Tangle - Georgette Heyer (RR)
  52. Radical Homemakers - Shannon Hayes
  53. Thirteen - Kelley Armstrong (RR)
  54. Otherworld Nights - Kelley Armstrong
  55. Otherworld Chills - Kelley Armstrong
  56. Peaches for Monsieur le Cure - Joanne Harris
  57. Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Achidie
  58. Memories of Gold - Ali Olson (RR)
  59. Merely Players - Patricia Thompson
  60. Wild Rose - Betsy Talbot
  61. The One Kingdom - Sean Russell (RR)       

2 comments:

Fiona said...

Woah! That's a list! I'm astounded that that's the list even with periods of limited reading! And all those long George Martin's as well!

I love that idea of getting some short stories for those in-between times. I need to use that myself to try to re-build a reading habit because I'm still not reading as much as I'd like to.

Do you use any apps to track your reading?

Moonwaves said...

I was unemployed and not busy with moving for the first three months of the year, after all. And let's face it, the longer books were more than balanced out by all the romances, which only take a couple of hours to read. :)