I will also be using this post as one of my Top Ten Tuesday topics!
Top Ten Tuesday is an original and weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
The Top Ten Tuesday for this week is Top Ten Best Books of 2016. And as a broad subject, we may choose different genres, books read in the year, or books published in 2016... pretty much anything!
A lot of stuff happened this year, and even though I ended up drifting into a reading (and reviewing) slump when November rolled around, and into December, I think I still accomplished a lot of reading, and, in general, accomplished a lot of Bookish Activities. This year, I participated in fewer Reading Challenges than in the past, but I managed to do quite well in completing them. Then there was a general effort to try to finish series I've already started, as well as the starting of new series that I totally intend to finish reading in 2017.
I've picked up over 50 new-to-me authors, participated in a few read-a-thons, and then there were the bookish activities taking place on Booklikes, such as Halloween Bingo, which brought me out of my usual reading comfort zone.
Finally, 'Ani's Book Abyss' was reborn at a completely new location. And I'd like to say that I've put quite a bit of work into this project. And so far, things seem to be going quite well. I started creating a lot of organizational spreadsheets to keep track of different aspects of my bookish and blogging life, and according to one particular spreadsheet, I have, at current, posted 400+ reviews!
I will definitely kick back and make a big fuss when I post review #500. And if I ever make it to 1000 reviews... well, that would be quite interesting as I feel it would probably take another couple years to achieve. Of course, I still have around 50 reviews I've yet to transfer from Goodreads and Booklikes.
This year was a pretty good year, all in all!
Reading Stats in 2016
(As of 12/26/2016)
Number of works read: 155
-- Full length print novels: 127
-- Novellas: 10
-- Short stories: 5
-- Anthologies: 4
-- Audio books: 9
Number of pages read: 45,976
Number of 5 Star reads: 2
Number of 4.5 Star reads: 8
Average book rating: 3.41
Number of 2015 Releases read: 12
Number Authors Read in 2016: 90
Number of New to Me Authors Read in 2016: 52
Most Read Authors in 2016:
1. Deanna Raybourn -- 6 books + 4 novellas
2. Amanda Quick -- 6 books
3. Jayne Castle -- 5 books + 1 novella
4. Jill Shalvis -- 6 books
5. Maggie Shayne -- 5 books + 1 novella
Favorite Books Read This Year
(Book titles link to my review if one was written.)
This was a given. I loved this series, and Blue Lily, Lily Blue was my favorite book of 2014. If The Raven King had been written in 2015, then it would have been my favorite book of 2015. But the publication date got pushed back a year, so it became my favorite book of 2016.
But all rambling aside (because the above paragraph probably meant nothing, really), The Raven King was a pretty awesome conclusion for one of my most favorite series of current.
This is a young adult/children's story that hit a lot of chords for me. I absolutely loved it, and it probably also helped that the full cast audio was amazing!
I am quite surprised by how much I loved this book considering the mediocre quality of the past two books Kasie published. In fact, I had this whole pep talk with myself about how Kasie and I would probably be going out separate ways soon if this next book didn't turn out as fabulous as her debut novel did. I didn't even auto-buy it because I didn't want to waste my money... so I borrowed the book from the library. And then proceeded to devour the whole thing and have a nice little Book Hangover afterwards.
Well played, West. Well played. I will be purchasing your next book due out within the next couple months. Now I'm conflicted about whether or not to buy this book and add it to my collection.
P.S. I Like You is a 2016 publication.
Truth be told, while Raybourn has an excellent writing style that is both beautiful and atmospheric, I had found it hard to really love her Julia Grey series like many others have. I have a big problem with unbalanced romances and irrationally unreasonable heroes who only know how to be pissed of for 99% of the book. In fact, I didn't even like the hero of Julia Grey until he started to sort of develop a sense of humor in the last book of the series. On the other hand, I loved the heroine of Julia Grey, the titular character herself, though I wished that she hadn't been so obsessed with her love interest.
So I wasn't entirely ecstatic to start reading A Curious Beginning. But, boy am I every so glad I DID decide to read it, because it was AMAZING! I absolutely loved Veronica Speedwell. And while I didn't love her companion, Stoker, he was so much more tolerable than the hero in the other Raybourn series, and so much more readily lovable. I also loved that this book didn't really settle into a quick romance, but presented a sweet, intimate friendship between Veronica and Stoker.
I am totally looking forward to the next book, to be published in January of 2017! One more month!!!
While the concluding book to The Dregs duology wasn't as wonderful as the first one, it still presented us with a great story, great characters, and great writing. There were a few snafus in the story line, and the ending was a little conflicting. But nonetheless, I absolutely loved this book to pieces, but probably not as much as I loved all of our characters.
Crooked Kingdom is a 2016 publication.
Sherry Thomas has a knack for writing and characters, even if her story lines tend toward the chaotic and confusing. I can understand why a lot of people did not care for The Elemental Trilogy as a young adult fantasy--the world was always vague and the magic system a bit sketchy. Even by the last book, the world was still kind of vague, and our main villain remained a simple dark enigma that needed to be destroyed, with little insight into his evilness.
But I cannot deny that I absolutely loved the characters of Titus, Iolanthe, Kashkari, and pretty much everyone else. Their growth and development was great, and their interactions were wonderful. Emotional scenes packed so much FEELS that I was extremely overwhelmed by the abundance of FEELS. Again, if it is one thing I can say about Sherry Thomas: She definitely does excellent characters, defines memorable character interactions.
To be honest, The Forbidden Wish actually felt a little unbalanced at times, written in first person POV from our Jinn's side of things. I would have loved to see more from Aladdin or the princess or even some of the princess's handmaidens. But in the end, The Forbidden Wish was an amazing retelling of Aladdin, bringing to the forefront an abundance, not only of a girl-power and strong characters, but making an epic love story not at all a mushy, fluffy event.
Instead, even while The Forbidden Wish was based entirely upon a love story, it turned out to be so, so much more!
The Forbidden Wish is a 2016 publication.
I don't understand how I loved this book at all. If ever there were a book that lacked the most basic of story book traits (i.e. a main conflict, a structured outline... an actual story!), it would be Written in Red. Written in Red is the story of how a girl runs away from captivation and joins a community of shape-shifting, man-eating creatures called 'The Others', and ends up sorting their mail for a living. Meanwhile, things happen and somehow, even though these scary creatures don't like humans, they end up loving our heroine... for no apparent reason other than she's really good at sorting their mail.
Yeah. I absolutely DID just write that last sentence. This book was all sorts of strange.
But at the same time, I found I couldn't stop reading this book, nor could I stop enjoying it. And somehow, I ended up finding the book strangely endearing. For no reason I can comprehend.
I look forward to each new Cindy Gerard book ever since becoming a big fan of hers. I should probably go back and read all of her backlist. The Way Home was a pleasantly surprising read, both quietly emotional, and wonderfully thought-provoking. While expecting a full-out romantic suspense from her, you instead end up with a contemporary that has a side serving of romantic suspense. I'd almost categorize this book as a sweet and subtle melodrama just based on the romantic angst that hits you where it hurts the most, in all the best ways possible.
I loved this book. I loved the story. I may not have been in love with any of the characters. But in the end, this was a wonderfully written book.
Special mention to Cindy Gerard's 2016 release, Taking Fire, as it was also lovely and sweet amidst the excitement of the suspense. As a second chance romance, this book also managed to hit a lot of the right chords with me, even as there were a few things that might not have sat well for me.
Taking Fire lost to The Way Home if only because of the distinctive, disjointed story line that cuts off the main story and then enfolds a sort of short sequel into the concluding chapters. But otherwise, both parts of the book were very well done.
Two words: Mind Blown.
I can see how Dame Agatha is such a celebrated mystery writer.
-- Honorable Mentions --
Baby It's Cold Outside by Addison Fox
The above ten books are honorable mentions, because while they weren't my top favorites, I still feel like they deserve a mention, as they were very enjoyable books that I, indeed, loved a lot. New to me authors were a pleasant new surprising love for me in Shirley Jackson, Sarah Addison Allen, Addison Fox, Amanda Quick, Jeannie Lin, and Yangsze Choo. Pamela Clare and Jill Shalvis are always delights!
Jeannie Lin brought back nostalgic thoughts of my childhood, growing up and watching wuxia series. Amanda Quick is a great new introduction into the Historical Romance/Historical Mystery... even if all of her books are exactly the same. Addison Fox is a new author for me to keep an eye out for; and Sarah Addison Allen has some of the most interesting, strangely enticing imagery and descriptions.
-- Series Mentions --
novella: Dream of Danger
This series was so awesome, probably because the main heroine, Rachel de Luca, is so crazily awesome in her straight-forward, no holding back, bitchy sort of way. It also helps that her dog, Myrtle, is the most adorable fictional blind bulldog to grace any literary page I've read. Mason isn't bad either, although I must admit that he was better in the first two books, then kind of starts becoming a bit too standard. The kids are great too--Rachel's twin nieces, and Mason's two nephews.
I read this entire series within a month, and not-so-patiently look forward to the next book.
I don't think I will ever stop asking myself how I managed to NOT finish reading all the books in this series after I read Grave Mercy two years previously. This series is wonderfully built with great characters, an extensive world that expands upon an interesting time in history, and actually made me care about the political aspects of a story.
On top of that, this series is three different books with three different characters, all boasting three very different kinds of story lines. And what have I always been saying about His Fair Assassin? NUN ASSASSINS!! That's what.
Now there are two more installments planned. I must get my hands on them... in 2018 and 2019. >.<
novella: Bridal Jitters
I want to say that I love these series because of the serviceable writing that is both smooth and witty, with the ability to draw you right into the story, making you forget that you had already read this story a book ago in the same series. It's partially true.
But really, I think I might love this series because of the Dust Bunnies.
Nonetheless, I am definitely going to finish the series--there are a total of thirteen books to get through total. That means I've got nine left unless our lovely author decides to add more books.
Jayne Ann Krentz writes as two other authors: Jayne Castle, mentioned above as author of the futuristic Harmony series, and Amanda Quick, the historical author counterpart. Books written by Jayne Ann Krentz are set in the contemporary times.
But it doesn't escape my notice that even with a few subtle difference, every single one of JAK's books are exactly the same formula for each of the three time-settings. But that doesn't seem to keep me from being drawn to them--all books by JAK are certainly made of addiction and everything un-put-down-able.
I will continue to read Arcane Society and am intrigued that it is starting to interweave with Harmony.
Size 12 Is Not Fat, Size 14 Is Not Fat Either, Big Boned, Size 12 and Ready to Rock, The Bride Wore Size 12
I didn't really like the first book in this series, but I'm glad I persevered and somehow made myself read the second book. The second book was much more enjoyable, and then the third, fourth, and last books were even better than the previous. Unlike many others, I actually enjoyed the last two books much more than the original three.
Heather Wells is definitely a very good example of why I like to give authors and series second chances. You never know if you'll end up loving said authors or series despite the crappy introductions.
Lucy Valentine is a cozy mystery that is quite enjoyable and I look forward to finishing the rest of the series. The characters are lovely and the mysteries well-outlined.
There are three more books and one short story to finish.
Currently Reading
2017 Bookish Forecast
My main plan for the year of 2017 is trying to finish up a lot of the book series I still have not finished reading. Many of them came to an end in 2015 and 2016, and that tells me that it's time to put away. Many others have just been sitting on my TBR for too long. Others still are just long, ongoing series I'd really like to catch up with so I don't feel guilty that all the book installments are just sitting around, waiting to be read.
Of course, it probably doesn't help that I'm also notoriously bad about starting new series before finishing others. I mean, just via my 2017 Reading Assignment Challenge, I will be starting eight new series... even if one will be completed as it is just a duology. And then, with the Romance Bingo 2017, I will be starting at least, maybe, four or six others depending on what I choose to read for the Bingo game.
Two Guys Detective Agency by Stephanie Bond / Two Guys Detetive Agency series
The Magicians' Guild by Trudi Canavan / Black Magician trilogy
Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep / Elemental Assassin series
Sweet Bea by Sarah Hegger / Arthur's Legacy series
Once a Thief by Kay Hooper / Quinn/Thief duology
Bringing Down Sam by Leslie Kelly / Temptation in the City series
Thicker Than Water by Maggie Shayne / Mordecai Young trilogy
The Law of Attraction by N.M. Silber / Lawyers in Love series
Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier / Sevenwaters series
A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare / Spindle Cove series
Second Chance Summer by Jill Shalvis / Cedar Ridge series
Sweet Little Lies by Jill Shalvis / Heartbreaker Bay series
Overruled by Emma Chase / The Legal Briefs series
I know also, however, that I also will be finishing a few series, so hopefully that makes up for something.
The Nightmare Charade by Mindee Arnett / The Arkwell Academy trilogy
Almost Dead by Lisa Jackson / San Francisco duology
Cybele's Secret by Juliet Marillier / Wildwood duology
Or at least I'll be trying to catch up with or finish certain series.
Lucky Harbor by Jill Shalvis
Harmony by Jayne Castle
Arcane Society by Amanda Quick and Jayne Ann Krentz
Aftershock by Jill Sorenson
Nikki Heat by Richard Castle
Steele Street by Tara Janzen
X-Ops by Paige Tyler
Splintered by A.G. Howard
The Others by Anne Bishop
Anyway... looks like I've got a big year ahead of me. And if the above listed books aren't enough, there are a few 2017 releases I am impatiently looking forward to reading.
A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn (#2 of Veronica Speedwell)
By Your Side by Kasie West
At Close Range by Laura Griffin (#11 of Tracers)
Wait for Dark by Kay Hooper (#17 of Bishop/SCU series)
The Thing About Love by Julie James
Lucky in Love by Kasie West
The Gatlin School For Vigilantes by Marissa Meyer (#1 of The Gatlin Trilogy)
