Book Talk: 2016 Wrap Up & Top 10 of 2016

When I signed up for Goodreads in May of 2012, I set my reading challenge for 50 books. I figured I was already a quarter of the way through the year so 50 books may be a challenge. Not the case. I demolished that goal. Since then I have been working my way up to my ultimate goal of reading 100 books in a single year. I got really close last year with 92 books, but at that point, I was just worrying about getting past my 90 book goal. It is with great pleasure and sense of accomplishment that I can say 2016 was the year I read 💯 books! Now I have to tackle the real challenge: whittling down the 100 to my top 10 favorite. Oh boy, here we go.

Stats:

• Books Read: 100
• Genres: 
• Fantasy: 35
• Science Fiction: 16
• Superhero: 15
• Contemporary: 10
• Historical Fiction: 7
• Nonfiction: 7
• Dystopian: 5
• Mystery: 3
• Humor: 1
• Satire: 1
• Page Count: 33,217

I need to give myself a pat on the back. This list of TEN different genres I read this year is honestly surprising. Last year I only ready eight! It seems I didn't read any thriller/horror books in 2016 but instead tested the water with satire and humor. Last year I lumped superhero in with either science fiction or fantasy, whichever was more appropriate for each story, so that's the third new genre in my round up. Also noteworthy, I read seven historical fiction novels. I love history but I never seemed to get around to reading historical fiction. Along with historical fiction, I also read more nonfiction this year! Well, technically I read one fewer nonfiction book, but there weren't as many textbooks this time! That counts for something.

We've come to the Top 10 portion of the blog post. Going through my Year in Books, I picked out the candidates for my Top 10 list and although I did my best to be as reserved as possible, I still ended up with an enthusiastic seventeen selections! How would I ever pare it down to just ten?! Last year I went with my Top 15 because it was for the year 2015, but I have too much going on in my life to write about fifteen books individually on top of everything else. Ten is enough for this year although putting two books on the chopping board is a lot easier than cutting seven out. I have done my best and in alphabetical order, I present to you the creme de la creme of my 2016 reads.

Top 10 Books of 2016:

Morning Star by Pierce Brown

How am I supposed to find the words to describe such a flawless end to a brilliant trilogy? The journey this book took us on was incredible. The action, the politics, the characters, the relationships, the everything. It was all I wanted and more. I don't know how much more I can emphasize that this is the perfect conclusion so I guess you'll just have to read it yourself. I cannot recommend this trilogy enough (although, I will say the Red Rising trilogy is not for the faint of heart) and I hope that I can one day find another series like it. 

The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron 

For the most part, I've been loving the books Uppercase picks out each month, even when I'm skeptical at first. When I received The Forgetting, it was described as a dystopian and I am kind of exhausted by dystopians so I kept pushing this book off. Not the best decision on my part because this turned out to be one of my favorite books of the entire year. Some of the reasons for it being up there are spoilers, but the sweet, pure romance didn't hurt. I find my mind wandering back to this world time and time again, just imagining what life would be like to live there. Taking my obsessions (I am purposely being vague here) into consideration, you'll see my meaning if you read this book. 

Wolf By Wolf by Ryan Graudin

One of my must-reads of 2016. Again, the premise was so solid, there was no way I would be able to pass on this book. In a world where the Axis won World War II, the Fuhrer wanted to showcase the best of the best German and Japanese boys in a race across Eurasia and Africa. Of course a book about that would be boring. How about we throw in a Jewish girl that was experimented on in the concentration camps? What if the result of those experiments were... successful? This story arc is captivating and played out very well over the course of the duology. If you're a history buff, a fan of action/adventure, or love a good underdog story, Wolf By Wolf and Blood For Blood is the duology for you.

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodie Meadows

On the other end of the historical fiction spectrum, we have something more of a history reimagining of the oft-forgotten Lady Jane Grey. This book had me laughing out loud and it gets so ridiculous at points, it's impossible not to love this book. Funnily enough, shape shifting is also involved in this story. If you're wanting a cutesy contemporary but also looking for a layer of humor, you have to give this book a shot. Hopefully these three authors will come up with some other project to work on together because it was truly a hoot and a half. I mean, she marries a horse for Pete's sake. How is that even possible?! (You'll find out exactly how if you read the book, just saying... 😉)

Starflight by Melissa Landers 

I was beginning to research Uppercase when I looked back at the books they've selected for previous months and Starflight was one that immediately caught my eye. At the time, it had been a while since I had read a book properly set in space, not just some alien planet, that it called to me. I was not disappointed. We go planet hopping in this book and there are space pirates involved so... Need I say more? Seriously though this book was exciting and had me falling in love with the whole cast of characters. Definitely worth the read and I know I will be picking up its sequel as soon as I can get my hands on it. 

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

I very nearly included Empire of Storms as well but I figured the conclusion to the entire Throne of Glass series is coming later this year so I'll reserve a spot for it in my next yearly Wrap Up. Both Sarah J. Maas' releases in 2016 were phenomenal but looking around, you'll see A Court of Mist and Fury on many people's list -- and for good reason. It isn't anything I can disclose here for fear of spoilers, but after reading ACoMaF, I can easily say A Court of Thorns and Roses did not deserve its spot on my 2015 Top 15 list. Not at all. ACoMaF blew ACoTaR out of the water. We'll see how the next book in the series turns out. I can't imagine it could possibly be better but knowing Maas' work, I expect nothing less.

Winter by Marissa Meyer

There were so many series finales that didn't make the cut in my Top 10 list. This was not one of them. Winter is one heavy hitter, clocking in at over 800 pages but every single one of them were necessary and moved the story forward at the perfect pace. Not an easy task. This final installment beautifully concludes the Lunar Chronicles with very satisfying endings for all our favorite characters. That being said, I wouldn't mind an extension of the universe in the future... Marissa Meyer lives somewhere in the same city as me so does that increase my chances of finding her and convincing her to take on this project?

The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

Here's another case of wanting to avoid repeating authors. As you know, I am a huge Rick Riordan fan and having to choose between two of his books is one of the harder decisions in life. In the end, I went with The Hidden Oracle over The Sword of Summer because, while he did a great job with Magnus Chase, nothing beats Riordan writing Greek mythology. You'll also be hard pressed to beat the cameos and the banter in The Hidden Oracle. Not to spoil anything, but the original bae makes an appearance and I could not contain my enthusiasm. If you've fallen behind on Percy Jackson or Heroes of Olympus, now is the time to catch up. Word on the street is that The Trials of Apollo is going to be a five part series so you haven't the time to waste! 

Pivot Point by Kasie West

I've raved about Pivot Point a lot this year and for good reason. It's an amazing book. Honestly I get excited just reading the premise alone. Pivot Point is essentially two books in one that takes you on the ultimate "what if" daydream that kept me on the edge of my seat. And on top of that, its sequel, Split Second, is done fantastically. I find myself thinking about this duology all the time and wishing I had my own Trevor. What a dream boat, amirite? 

The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

There has been a lot of talk about Nicola Yoon and when my November Uppercase Box featured The Sun Is Also a Star, I had to hop on that train as fast as I could. It was a smart decision on my part. This book literally felt like it was carrying me through the story and placed me strategically to watch this relationship blossom before my eyes. The little interludes added so much depth to the experience that it made me feel so connected to these characters. Almost as if I were the third person in their relationship. Just thinking about it now fills me up with this wonderful emotion that I can't quite place. I don't know if I had a particularly visceral connection or if this book invokes similar emotions in everybody else but, despite these characters being fictional, it honestly felt like an honor to have to privilege of looking into their day together. 

Coming up with this list was painful. When I was picking out my candidates for my shortlist I was so ruthless and I still ended up with almost twice as many books as I should have! If I were soft-hearted like I usually am I probably would've had close to thirty or forty on that list. Oh boy. It'd be so much easier if I chose to list my least favorites because I rarely read books I don't like. It was the best reading year of my life in terms of quantity, and potentially even quality. Please do let me know if you've read any of the books on my Top 10 list or if I have convinced you to pick any of them up! I'd also love to hear some of your favorite books of the year! I'm looking forward to this new reading year, especially now that I can relax and scale back my reading goal. 

Talk to you soon!

xo, Yvette