2016 on Goodreads

WHAT A YEAR!Already am I in disbelief that it is currently December. Though 2016 was a crappy year for the world, it was a great year for me. 2016 was the year of Hamilton. And life changes. And many, many great books. It was the year I got to meet [a:Victoria Schwab 3099544 Victoria Schwab https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1336685438p2/3099544.jpg] which was the best thing to happen to me the past twelve months! I got to tell her how mad I was at her for the ending of [b:A Gathering of Shadows 20764879 A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2) V.E. Schwab https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1429627728s/20764879.jpg 43242915]. I also lied to her and told her I already had [b:A Conjuring of Light 29939230 A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3) V.E. Schwab https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464017758s/29939230.jpg 44752519] on pre-order. (I have in on pre-order now though). And I got my giant stack of books signed. As of 12.22.2016, I have read 98 books this year. And only about five of those 97 books did I give a rating less that 3 stars too. There were so little disappointing reads. My average rating reflected this, being a 4.0. I like making detailed lists, putting things in order. Narrowing down my favorite books this year was hard, so instead of making a top ten, I made a top sixteen. 1. [b:The Serpent King 22752127 The Serpent King Jeff Zentner https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1435673762s/22752127.jpg 42298618]2. [b:A Gathering of Shadows 20764879 A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2) V.E. Schwab https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1429627728s/20764879.jpg 43242915]3. [b:Winter 13206900 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles, #4) Marissa Meyer https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470057036s/13206900.jpg 18390887] (& [b:Scarlet 13206760 Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2) Marissa Meyer https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470056982s/13206760.jpg 18390691] & [b:Cress 13206828 Cress (The Lunar Chronicles, #3) Marissa Meyer https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470057005s/13206828.jpg 18390772] & [b:Stars Above 25689074 Stars Above (The Lunar Chronicles, #4.5) Marissa Meyer https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1472473049s/25689074.jpg 45517469])4. [b:Illuminae 23395680 Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1) Amie Kaufman https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1443433956s/23395680.jpg 26653661] & [b:Gemina 29236299 Gemina (The Illuminae Files, #2) Amie Kaufman https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1480097137s/29236299.jpg 44560442]5. [b:Six of Crows 23437156 Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) Leigh Bardugo https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1459349344s/23437156.jpg 42077459]6. [b:A Torch Against the Night 25558608 A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes, #2) Sabaa Tahir https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463675717s/25558608.jpg 45355236]7. [b:The Hidden Oracle 26252859 The Hidden Oracle (The Trials of Apollo, #1) Rick Riordan https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449765273s/26252859.jpg 46249638]8. [b:A Court of Mist and Fury 17927395 A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2) Sarah J. Maas https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1452783825s/17927395.jpg 25126749]9. [b:The Wrath & the Dawn 18798983 The Wrath & the Dawn (The Wrath & the Dawn, #1) Renee Ahdieh https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1417956963s/18798983.jpg 26724902] & [b:The Rose & the Dagger 23308084 The Rose & the Dagger (The Wrath & the Dawn, #2) Renee Ahdieh https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1443797156s/23308084.jpg 42862750]10. [b:This Savage Song 23299512 This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity, #1) Victoria Schwab https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1445529989s/23299512.jpg 42855493]11. [b:Empire of Storms 28260587 Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass, #5) Sarah J. Maas https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463107108s/28260587.jpg 25272004]12. [b:And I Darken 27190613 And I Darken (The Conquerer's Saga, #1) Kiersten White https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449153532s/27190613.jpg 41682914]13. [b:Stand-Off 20662291 Stand-Off (Winger, #2) Andrew Smith https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1418086373s/20662291.jpg 39961074]14. [b:Firefight 15704459 Firefight (Reckoners, #2) Brandon Sanderson https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1413220816s/15704459.jpg 21979689] (& [b:Steelheart 17182126 Steelheart (Reckoners, #1) Brandon Sanderson https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1357576738s/17182126.jpg 21366540])15. [b:Extraordinary Means 23149128 Extraordinary Means Robyn Schneider https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1426334293s/23149128.jpg 27946757]16. [b:The False Prince 12432220 The False Prince (The Ascendance Trilogy, #1) Jennifer A. Nielsen https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1333227435s/12432220.jpg 16221764]I would want to take a second to mention some people who have influenced me greatly this year. Kaz Brekker. Nina. Inej. Wylan. Kell. Manon. Princess Winter. Kady Grant. Hannah Donnelly. Elias Veturius. Helene Aquilla. Rhysand. Shahrzhad. And of course, Percy Jackson. There's so many books I'm looking forward to in 2017, and you can find them all here. A toast to all the books read in 2016, and to all the ones to be read in 2017!

I don't know if this review should be rated basing it on this year's average rating (it's of 3.4 and this is so disappointing nghhhh) or how I feel about my reading experience/goal/life.. Please let me know!! :)2016 has been a great year for reading to me. I really read a lot - 80 books (I know, my standards are pretty low lmao);I know there are plenty of people who read like 7283879202 books in 2016, but I'm soooo proud of myself!! I became a serious reader five years ago and I started from the very bottom reading something like 16 books (unfortunately that year I had serious problems with my job that caused me health issues too, so I honestly did my best, considering the fact I spent some years without reading. And THAT is such a shame because I've always loved books since I was a child).I'm so happy seeing that each year I improve myself and get to read more and more!! I honestly hope to keep up this positive thing and get to read 100 books in 2017 (NO WAY, not even in my dreams ahah) :DOn a personal level this has been such a disastrous year like #fuckmylife lolSaying it has been like a roller coaster with its ups and downs is an euphemism, so I honestly hope that 2017 will be a positive year for myself and my family because I can say we honestly deserve it <3On the other hand, I have met some new virtual friends (in and off GR) and this makes me feel really happy because I feel linked to them on a spiritual level <3~ The funny thing is I had NO IDEA about what to write, like I was sure I only would have made a little list without saying anything at all, but I'm too talkative and I should have predicted I'd have wrote a whole book (nobody's going to read this anyway, so I think it's ok lol)Boring enough!! XDLet's talk about the interesting stuff that nobody even cares: my opinion about the books I read this year lolI wanted to make something like a top 10 of the best and worst reads, but it looks like I don't have enough five stars ratings, so I will make a top 5 U_____U;;;So, let's go~~~~~ Let's start from the infamous ones.WORST READS OF THE YEAR:5. [b:Story of the Eye 9961057 Story of the Eye Georges Bataille https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1292778120s/9961057.jpg 616919].Like ugh, bruh. What's wrong with these people?? I get paranoid with this kind of books, I always feel so.. normal compared to them? And what if these people could make ME something like THAT??? I don't know, just let me be because this scares the hell out of me :'D4. [b:Curse of the Alpha: Episode 2 23011645 Curse of the Alpha Episode 2 Tasha Black https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1408918514s/23011645.jpg 43982358].Trash filled with opinable sex (?). Just NO.3. [b:La farfalla con le ali di cristallo 25919364 La farfalla con le ali di cristallo Demetrio Verbaro https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1437036759s/25919364.jpg 45809221].I don't even know if there's an english edition of this little pearl, but I hope there wasn't even an italian one. I felt the good vibes of the title (that could be translated as “The Butterfly with the Crystal Wings”) that seemed to promise me a good story, but at the end I had such an hard time to read this one.2. [b:The Plague Doctor 17201538 The Plague Doctor C.P. Sennett https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1357054026s/17201538.jpg 23677209].So, so, SO DISAPPOINTING. This summer on Amazon I found the paperback for something like €2,50 , so I gladly bought it because the plot seemed to be pretty good, too. I was so sad when I realized it was extremely boring and full of pointless facts. I didn't even like the ending that was full of action, so you can get the idea.... I'm afraid the next one is a big fat ultra mega unpopular opinion, but I couldn't make it, sorry..1. [b:Me Before You 15507958 Me Before You (Me Before You, #1) Jojo Moyes https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1357108762s/15507958.jpg 17763198].Overly hyped imo. I wanted to give it a shot, but it turned out it bored me to death and it took me MONTHS to finish it. Just get out of my life and never come back.*********BEST READINGS OF 2016:5. [b:Insanity 18910286 Insanity (Insanity #1) Cameron Jace https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1385232610s/18910286.jpg 26915698].I REALLY loved this book and the plot! Cameron Jace is hands down becoming one of my fave authors ever (this year I read [b:Figment 15698596 Figment (Insanity, #2) Cameron Jace https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1417114547s/15698596.jpg 21356307] and 10 of the Grimm Diaries' prequels, too. I will try to go on with these series asap, like I HAVE TO DO IT!)4. [b:The Courtesan and the Samurai 10423241 The Courtesan and the Samurai (The Shogun Quartet #3) Lesley Downer https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348331900s/10423241.jpg 11605665].Lesley Downer has always been one of my fave authors EVER. She can mesmerize me like a few other people can. WRITE MORE BOOKS, PWEESE!!! ♥ (still hoping to get her latest book :'C)3. [b:Cinder 11235712 Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1) Marissa Meyer https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470056948s/11235712.jpg 15545385] & [b:Scarlet 13206760 Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2) Marissa Meyer https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470056982s/13206760.jpg 18390691].What can I say??? I honestly love this series and I promise I will read the other books very soon (I already started [b:Cress 13206828 Cress (The Lunar Chronicles, #3) Marissa Meyer https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470057005s/13206828.jpg 18390772] but I wanted to finish the books I already started before jumping on this one u.u) <3332. [b:The Lightning Thief 6676603 The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1) Rick Riordan https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388262641s/6676603.jpg 3346751].WHY. DID. I. WAIT. SO. LONG. TO. READ. THIS. SERIES????? Like, mamma mia!!! I wanted to read it only because they were going to broadcast the movies on TV and for once I wanted to know the story before getting on the film lmao OMG THIS TIME I WAS SO RIGHT!! (The movie sucked tho)AAAAAAND HERE'S THE BEST OF THE BEST aka THE BESTEST (ahahah):1. [b:Illuminae 23395680 Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1) Amie Kaufman https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1443433956s/23395680.jpg 26653661].THIS BOOK. OMG THIS BOOK KILLED ME. AND I'M SO HAPPY IT DID. I still can't get myself to review it, honest.*********Ok, I swear it's over and if you got to read all of my BS I ask you to msg me because I want to personally give you my congrats and love you eternally ahahah <3I hope you had a good year and that 2017 will get even better!! xoxo ♥♥♥

Top 10 Reads of 20161) [b:Babylon's Ashes 25877663 Babylon's Ashes (The Expanse, #6) James S.A. Corey https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442247299s/25877663.jpg 45754030] - 5 Stars - (My Review)2) [b:The Guns of Empire 25845201 The Guns of Empire (The Shadow Campaigns, #4) Django Wexler https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1446499764s/25845201.jpg 45878017] - 5 Stars - (My Review)3) [b:Morning Star 18966806 Morning Star (Red Rising, #3) Pierce Brown https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1461354277s/18966806.jpg 26984941] - 5 Stars - (My Review)4) [b:Age of Myth 26863057 Age of Myth (The Legends of the First Empire, #1) Michael J. Sullivan https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1455375200s/26863057.jpg 24657657] - 5 Stars - (My Review)5) [b:City of Blades 23909755 City of Blades (The Divine Cities, #2) Robert Jackson Bennett https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1426255519s/23909755.jpg 43516764] - 5 Stars - (My Review)6) [b:Rat Queens, Vol. 3: Demons 28762820 Rat Queens, Vol. 3 Demons Kurtis J. Wiebe https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1454881534s/28762820.jpg 48893668] - 5 Stars - (My Review)7) [b:The Spider's War 20404905 The Spider's War (The Dagger and the Coin, #5) Daniel Abraham https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1410969828s/20404905.jpg 28929652] - 4.5 Stars - (My Review)8) [b:Guards! Guards! 64216 Guards! Guards! (Discworld, #8; City Watch #1) Terry Pratchett https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1431127356s/64216.jpg 1128601]- 4.5 Stars - (My Review)9) [b:The Bands of Mourning 18739426 The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn, #6) Brandon Sanderson https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1450134973s/18739426.jpg 26616838] - 4.5 Stars - (My Review)10) [b:Golden Son 18966819 Golden Son (Red Rising, #2) Pierce Brown https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1394684475s/18966819.jpg 26984955] - 4 Stars - (My Review)For the rest of my review here's the report generated by my GoodReads Parser Application and some general comments about the numbers. ^_^***** Yearly Report ****Year: 2016Total Books: 90Rereads: 8Number of Books: 36Total Pages: 12364Longest Book (Pages): 726Average Pages: 343.44Number of Books (Excluding Graphic Novels): 27Total Pages (Excluding Graphic Novels): 10908Average Pages (Excluding Graphic Novels): 404Number of Audiobooks: 54Total Audio Hours: 914Longest Book (Hours): 42Average Hours: 16.93Overall my reading was down again (both in terms of number of books and their total length) from the last 3 years, but still a pretty good year for me and far better than I was before I joined Goodreads.*** Ratings **Average Rating: 3.69Total 2 Count: 5 (5.56%)Total 3 Count: 25 (27.78%)Total 4 Count: 53 (58.89%)Total 5 Count: 7 (7.78%)As far as book selection, I'm hovering just under a 4 star rating for the year, so I'm doing pretty well. Of the five 2 star rating books, 4 were book picks made by someone else and the other was a recommendation that just didn't work for me.For those of you doing the math (and know I'm stingy and never round up to 5 stars) and wondering why I have Ten 7 star books, and my top 10 contains only 6, the missing book was a reread. Sadly for books 7-9, Goodreads doesn't allow for half stars.**** Genre Breakdown ****Total FANTASY Count: 42 (46.67%)Total HISTORICAL Count: 5 (5.56%)Total HORROR Count: 1 (1.11%)Total HUMOR Count: 2 (2.22%)Total MYSTERY Count: 3 (3.33%)Total NONFICTION Count: 7 (7.78%)Total STEAMPUNK Count: 2 (2.22%)Total SCIFI Count: 24 (26.67%)Total THRILLER Count: 4 (4.44%)As usual, I'm mostly reading fantasy. However my percentage is down about 10% from last year. That said, 7 of my top 10 this year were fantasy and the other 3 were Sci-Fi. While SFF made up nearly 74% of my total reading, that's down from last year's 87%, and I read more stuff from other genres (which had been a goal of mine).******* Format Breakdown ****Total AUDIO_BOOK Count: 54 (60.00%)Total BOOK Count: 11 (12.22%)Total EBOOK Count: 16 (17.78%)Total GRAPHIC_NOVEL Count: 9 (10.00%)I was consistent with my ebook reading from last year, and I did a better job with avoiding constantly buying more daily deals than in the past, but I still picked up a few I didn't read right away again. My audio is up percentage wise, while being down overall like all of my reading this year. ****** Author Gender Breakdown ******Total MALE Count: 73 (81.11%)Total FEMALE Count: 15 (16.67%)This is a new addition. I don't necessarily strive to read more books by women, but I do find it interesting to look at. The ratio is pretty awful though. Compared to previous years this is on par with 2015 and better than 2013 and 2014.***** Years Published ****Total 1950 Count: 1 (1.11%)Total 1958 Count: 1 (1.11%)Total 1971 Count: 1 (1.11%)Total 1973 Count: 1 (1.11%)Total 1977 Count: 1 (1.11%)Total 1985 Count: 1 (1.11%)Total 1987 Count: 1 (1.11%)Total 1989 Count: 2 (2.22%)Total 1990 Count: 4 (4.44%)Total 1991 Count: 2 (2.22%)Total 1992 Count: 2 (2.22%)Total 1993 Count: 2 (2.22%)Total 1994 Count: 1 (1.11%)Total 1995 Count: 1 (1.11%)Total 1996 Count: 3 (3.33%)Total 1999 Count: 1 (1.11%)Total 2001 Count: 1 (1.11%)Total 2004 Count: 1 (1.11%)Total 2005 Count: 2 (2.22%)Total 2006 Count: 2 (2.22%)Total 2007 Count: 2 (2.22%)Total 2009 Count: 1 (1.11%)Total 2010 Count: 1 (1.11%)Total 2011 Count: 3 (3.33%)Total 2012 Count: 3 (3.33%)Total 2013 Count: 3 (3.33%)Total 2014 Count: 4 (4.44%)Total 2015 Count: 12 (13.33%)Total 2016 Count: 30 (33.33%)**** Decade Published ******Total 1950 Count: 2 (2.22%)Total 1970 Count: 3 (3.33%)Total 1980 Count: 4 (4.44%)Total 1990 Count: 16 (17.78%)Total 2000 Count: 9 (10.00%)Total 2010 Count: 56 (62.22%)This was another new addition. Most of my reading comes from books published in the last 15 years, and a good number (30) of my total were published in 2016. Only 5.5% of the books I read were published before I was born.Overall, a pretty good year for me. Hopefully 2017 will be too.

It was a struggle to get in a mere 35 books this year, mostly in a peri-election slump. I actually did a good job reviewing and adding books this year, keeping pace through August (usually I only keep pace through March or so) and actually reviewing them. And I read at a good clip, up until October, when I read barely anything. Nonetheless, books of the year:Best Book of the Year/Best Non-Fiction[b:The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code 16240783 The Riddle of the Labyrinth The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code Margalit Fox https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387149271s/16240783.jpg 24585584] (Margalit Fox) – Like all good amateur cryptographers, I know the story of Linear B backwards and forwards, but Fox tells it with such beauty and power that it was like I was hearing it for the first time. The idea of being able to figure out what ancient people were writing about with no parallel language source (such as the Rosetta Stone) borders on magical. Fox's tale of the linguists who did add a nice & feminist touch to the story as well.Best FictionTie: [b:The Trespasser 29430013 The Trespasser (Dublin Murder Squad, #6) Tana French https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462998307s/29430013.jpg 48321130] (Tana French) – At some point in time, I became obsessed with Tana French, and honestly, her work has just kept getting better. The Trespasser changed my worldview with its deep exploration of imposter syndrome and negative self-narratives. It deserves a place next to French's other Greats, like the Likeness and the Secret Place.[b:The Martian 18007564 The Martian Andy Weir https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1413706054s/18007564.jpg 21825181] (Andy Weir) – who thought a book about a solitary potato farmer could be quite so charming? I loved the ingenuity of the book. I also really liked the team of humans v. environment conflict as a nice reprieve from interpersonal conflict. Also goods![b:The Goblin Emperor 17910048 The Goblin Emperor Katherine Addison https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1373039517s/17910048.jpg 24241248][b:The Girl with All the Gifts 17235026 The Girl with All the Gifts M.R. Carey https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403033579s/17235026.jpg 23753235][b:T. Rex and the Crater of Doom 83971 T. Rex and the Crater of Doom Walter Alvarez https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403031387s/83971.jpg 81068][b:Jackalope Wives 20527580 Jackalope Wives Ursula Vernon https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389652524s/20527580.jpg 37333063][b:100 Sideways Miles 20493997 100 Sideways Miles Andrew Smith https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1390410069s/20493997.jpg 16818609]Worst Book of the Year[b:A Guide for the Perplexed 17573649 A Guide for the Perplexed Dara Horn https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1395613421s/17573649.jpg 24513718] – Yup, a book I got for free was the worst book of the year. And it's not for lack of competition, either, this book was just pure awful. It's basically pandering to the audience who reads Books For Jews! Look, it's about Jews! The main character's name is Ashkenazi, so you know she's Jewish. Read it if you're Jewish (only don't, because it's a really boring retelling of the Joseph/Judah story, with Josephine and Judith standing in for Joseph and Judah.)More CommentsMan, I special ordered/bought new/borrowed new a ton of books this year, anticipating new works from much loved authors. This doesn't usually work out well in my life, I'm finding (Tana French being a notable exception.) I read very little nonfiction this year, starting strong, but then trailing off. I partially read at least three nonfiction books that I subsequently misplaced. I think I'm just a slower nonfiction reader and the barrier for me finishing books is remembering where I put them. Maybe I should work on that.I seem to be reading a lot more genre fiction again, after a long period of lit fic. I think I'm over the beautiful prose/speaks to the human condition/while nothing happens for a bit. Genre fiction, I missed you. Friends, I've been out of touch – what's good?Most Anticipated Books Planned for 2017[b:The Lie Tree 23592175 The Lie Tree Frances Hardinge https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1423240440s/23592175.jpg 43194799] – I have heard so many good things about this gothic/feminist/fantasy/science-y/mystery novel that it's hard to believe it's all contained in one book.[b:Talking Hands: What Sign Language Reveals about the Mind 1371694 Talking Hands What Sign Language Reveals about the Mind Margalit Fox https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387743380s/1371694.jpg 1361555] – Perhaps I have already forgotten 2016's lesson to not be overeager for additional books by loved authors, but I need to read everything Margalit Fox has ever written and this book about a sign language that evolves in a Bedouin community with endemic deafness sounds amazing.