- Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon
- The 5th Wave by Rick Yancy
- The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancy
- The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon
- The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
- On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle
- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
- Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
- Montana Sky by Nora Roberts
- One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
- Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
- Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
- Through the Grinder by Cleo Coyle
- Wonderfully Dysfunctional by Buffi Neal
- The Happiest Toddler on the Block by Harvey Karp
- The Passage by Justin Cronin
- The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling
- The Last Child by John Hart
- The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
- Leave Me by Gayle Forman
- The Vacationers by Emma Straub
- Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
- Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
- The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer
- Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
- 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith
- Cinder by Marissa Meyer
- My True Love Gave to Me edited by Stephanie Perkins
- Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
2016 was a really good year for reading. I wasn’t sure at the end of last year how reading would fall into my life as a mom of two, and I’m really glad that I found a way to make it work. I was hopeful in setting my 2016 reading goal at 30 books, and although I had to read 5 books in December to get there, I’m really pleased to report that I accomplished it (with a few days to spare, even!)
I still stand by my preference for reading during naptime; reading is one of the things that really makes me feel like myself, and while there’s ALWAYS something else I should be doing, taking a little time (when I can) to sit with my coffee and a book is never something I regret. I’ve been struggling with a lot of my other hobbies (photography, scrapbooking, hell anything crafty whatsoever) this year, and in 2016, reading was the one thing I returned to. I probably say it every time I write this year-end post, but reading a lot of books is a big part of my self-identity, and it helps to remember that when I start to feel a little bit lost. (Two and a half years into this stay at home mom life, and I’m still trying to figure it out in so many ways. It’s too bad I don’t have a blog where I could write about it 😉 )
I read some really good books this year! And some other books I really didn’t care for. I started a few new series, including the Stephanie Plum series, which I never read way back in the day, and those have been great when I need something fun and quick that I can just finish. I started a few new YA series that I’m looking forward to finishing (The Raven Cycle and the Lunar Chronicles), and I read way more adult fiction than I EVER do…. wondering the whole time if adult fiction is so dark and/or depressing and/or full of affairs and awful people, if I’m really missing anything at all by largely avoiding the genre.
My favorite books of 2016 were by far The Nightingale (if you haven’t read this, you really should), Big Little Lies (late to the game on this but it was different and interesting), My True Love Gave to Me (such a sweet collection of YA holiday-themed stories; I’ll definitely come back to this year after year), and Cinder. Some of the adult novels (The Vacationers, Leave Me, Fates and Furies) were super well written but full of characters I disliked, and therefore I have trouble recommending them.
So! What will my goal for 2017 be? To be honest, I sort of want to go big and set my goal at 52 to have something to work toward… but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I don’t have THAT much time on my hands. My average is 40 books, so I think I’ll aim to read that many, and maybe even a few more. I’d like to finish some of the series I’ve started (including the 3rd novel in Justin Cronin’s the Passage series and the next by Tana French), and look for some of the other books written by authors I enjoyed this year (Liane Moriarty, Kristin Hannah). It’s been a while since I’ve re-read Harry Potter… it’s been a while since I’ve read a classic… but we’ll see. Happy reading!
In Previous Years…
Books Read in 2015
Books Read in 2014
Books Read in 2013
Books Read in 2012
Books Read in 2011
Books Read in 2010
Books Read in 2009
Books Read in 2008
Books Read in 2007
Books Read in 2006
Books Read in 2005
she likes stripes 
Great list! We have a lot of overlap in titles we read this year(and past years.) Isn’t My True Love Gave to Me so nice? I read it last year and bought it for myself this year so that I could just dip in to a couple stories in the days before Christmas. When my kids were babies I always read during their naps and frankly don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t! Here’s my post about my books of the year: https://sarahsbookjournal.wordpress.com/2016/12/31/top-ten-books-of-2016/
And, definitely do go back and read Liane Moriarty’s earlier stuff. She’s a top notch author and I’m glad to see her steady increase in American popularity. What Alice Forgot is my favorite of hers, but also The Last Anniversary is really good.
It was so cute! I already bought it as a gift for one person, and I know I’ll re-read my favorites each year. And I will definitely go back and read more of Liane Moriarty’s stuff; I’ve been hearing about her for so long, I don’t know how it took me so long to finally read one.