Top Ten Tuesday: My top ten books of 2016

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Top Ten Best Books Of 2016. 

According to Goodreads, I gave a 5-star rating to 44 books in 2016. So how to narrow down my top books to just 10? Here are the books I consider the best of the best from my 2016 reading — not necessarily books published in 2016; simply the books I read this past year that I loved the most. (And okay, I cheated a bit and snuck in more than 10!)

Note: If you want to know more about any of the books mentioned here, click on the links to see my reviews.

1) Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (review)

Dark Matter

2) The Fireman by Joe Hill (review)

The Fireman

3) All the Winters After by Seré Prince Halverson (review)

All the Winters After

4) Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepinstall (review)

Blue Asylum

5) The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett (review)

versions2

6) Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart (review)

girl-waits-with-gun

7) Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire (review)

Every Heart

8) Agent To the Stars/The Android’s Dream/Lock In by John Scalzi
(reviews here, here, and here)

9) Potterworld books: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (review) and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (screenplay)

10) Flight by Sherman Alexie (review)

flight

 

What were your favorite reads of 2016? Please leave me your link!

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Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Of My Most Recent 5-Star Reads

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is 10 Of My Most Recent 5 Star Reads.

I feel like I’ve already praised most of these to death, but hey — if a book is that good, it’s always worth talking about again! My top ten, in no particular order:

 

1) Breakup by Dana Stabenow: I can’t help raving about this terrific series!

Breakup

2) And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie: My first Christie, finally!

and then

3) Lock In by John Scalzi (review): Fascinating sci-fi.

lock in

4) All the Winters After by Seré Prince Halverson (review): Love and Alaska – what could be better?

All the Winters After

5) The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian (review): Disturbing, shocking, and moving.

Guest Room

6) In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters (review): So far, every one of this author’s books has been a 5-star read for me.

In the Shadow of Blackbirds

7) Uprooted by Naomi Novik (review): Utterly magical and absorbing.

Uprooted

8) Alex + Ada by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn (review): An amazing graphic novel trilogy.

Alex + AdaAlex + Ada 2aa

9) Depth by Lev AC Rosen (review): Sci-fi noir — a detective story set in the drowned city of New York.

Depth

10) The Marvels by Brian Selznick (review): This author continues to amaze with his words-and-pictures approach to storytelling.

The Marvels

What books made your list this week? Please share your links!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Shelf Control and Thursday Quotables. Happy reading!

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Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top ten books I really love… but haven’t talked about in a while.

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Top Ten Books Ten Books I Really Love But Feel Like I Haven’t Talked About Enough/In A While.

Hmmm. I guess that rules out Outlander! 🙂

Here are a bunch of books that I do really love, but don’t seem to have included on any of my lists in a while:

1) Kindred by Octavia Butler: A powerful tale of time travel, set in the 1970s and the antebellum South.

kindred

2) All Men of Genius by Lev AC Rosen: A clever, funny, fast-paced steampunk comedy.

All Men of Genius

3) Alive in Necropolis by Doug Dorst: Set in a graveyard, with cops and ghosts. Unique, to say the least.

alive in necropolis

4) 11/22/63 by Stephen King: Another time-travel masterpiece.

11_22_63

5) The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker: Such a beautiful story (here’s my review).

golem

6) The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian: One of the spookiest ghost stories I’ve ever read.

night strangers

7) My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki: A book about a Japanese TV show sponsored by the American beef industry? Yes, the topic sounds odd, but it’s an incredible book.

My Year of Meats

8) Deerskin by Robin McKinley: A fairy tale that’s dark and disturbing; not a children’s book.

Deerskin

9) The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint: Another ghost story, this one about love and connections.

Mystery of Grace

10) Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn: Word lovers unite! If you enjoy clever word play, you can’t miss with this book.

Ella Minnow Pea

What books made your list this week? Please share your links!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Shelf Control and Thursday Quotables. Happy reading!

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Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I’ve Read So Far in 2015

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is the Top Ten Books I’ve Read So Far In 2015. I love looking back over the year (or in this case, the first half of the year), and seeing the weird and wonderful mix of books that I’ve read.

My top 10 for the 1st half of 2015 includes some new releases, some books from a year or so ago, and some that go way, way back. In case you want to know why these books are on my top 10 list, I’m including the review links for any I’ve reviewed:

TTT 06302015 collage

1) Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (review)

2) The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant (review)

3) The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian (review)

4) Inside the O’Briens by Lisa Genova (review)

5) The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson (review)

6) Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf (review)

7) Winger by Andrew Smith (review)

8) Emma by Jane Austen (re-read via audiobook; no review… but I loved it!)

9) Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (review)

10) The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer (I read most of this series in late 2014, but since I read Fairest in 2015, it counts!) (review)

What are the best books you’ve read so far in 2015?

Share your links, and I’ll come check out your top 10!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out my regular weekly feature, Thursday Quotables. Happy reading!

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Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

 

Top Ten Tuesday: My top 10 favorite books from the past 5 years

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is “Top Ten Books You Would Classify As ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOKS from the past 3 years (you can extend it to 5 if you need to)”.  I feel like I’ve posted about my favorites a lot already — and I’m not sure that my all-time favorite books would come from the past 3 – 5 years — but anyway…

Here are the books (or series) from the past 5 years that have made a lasting impression! I’m trying to throw in a few besides the ones I always rave about… we’ll see how well I do.

In no particular order (well, except for #1, which is always my #1):

1) The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon: Considering how much these books have come to rule my life, it’s funny when I stop to realize that I didn’t read Outlander for the first time until the fall of 2010!

My Outlander shelf!

My Outlander shelf!

2) The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs (and the Alpha & Omega books too): Another series that was pretty much love at first read for me.

Briggs photo

3) The Shining and Doctor Sleep by Stephen King: I re-read The Shining for the first time in decades right before the release of Doctor Sleep, and reading the two books back-to-back was such a fantastically creepy reading experience.

S King

And now for some stand-alones that I find myself recommending all the time:

4) I Shall Be Near To You by Erin Lindsay McCabe

IShallBeNear

5) Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

verity

6) The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

The Golem and the Jinni PB

7) The Winter Sea and The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley. Really, just about any book by Susanna Kearsley — yet another author who quickly became a favorite during the last five years.

8) Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel. Can’t wait for the third book!

9) The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes — an author who was new to me just a couple of years ago, but whose books I’ve been devouring! The Ship of Brides is one of my favorites.

ship of brides

10) And finally, I just have to include the graphic novels I’ve fallen for in the last 3 – 5 years, especially the world of Fables by Bill Willingham and Y: The Last Man and Saga by Brian K. Vaughan.

ylastman

1fables

saga collage

What are your favorite books from the last 3 – 5 years? Please share your links!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out my regular weekly feature, Thursday Quotables. Happy reading!

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Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Read in 2014

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Top Ten Books I Read in 2014. I read so many great books this past year, and I’ve already raved about quite a few of them. In no particular order, here are the best of the bunch:

Note: If you want to know more about any of the books mentioned here, click on the links to see my reviews.

1) I Shall Be Near To You by Erin Lindsay McCabe

IShallBeNear

 2) The Martian by Andy Weir

martian

3) Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon

MOBY

4) The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

AJFikry

5) Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

Midwinterblood

6) Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

unbroken

7) We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

jackson

8) The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carey

girl with all the gifts

9) Archetype and Prototype by M. D. Waters

collage1214

10) Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

rebecca

What were you favorite books from 2014? Share your links, and I’ll come check out your top 10!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly feature, Thursday Quotables. Happy reading!

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Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I’d Love to Re-Read

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic focuses on books that we’ve read already… but that are calling out for a re-read!

Here are my top picks for books I’d like to revisit:

1) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: I read this during high school, and that was a really long time ago! I feel so derelict for not having re-read it sooner, but at least I have a copy now. I’m going to try to make time for a re-read during the next few months.

mockingbird

2) Lord of the Flies by William Golding: Another one from ye olde school days that I should probably revisit.

lord of the flies

3) Either Emma or Persuasion (or both!) by Jane Austen. I really love both of these, and it’s been far too many years since I’ve picked up either book.

emma persuasion

4) Any of the Vonnegut books I’ve known and loved — top contenders being Cat’s Cradle or Galapagos.

galapagosCat's Cradle

5) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. I kept waiting to re-read this one, thinking perhaps that I’d convince my son to read it with me. He’s consistently turned me down, so it’s probably time for me to just read it on my own, and then maybe read the other books in the series too.

wrinkle

6) The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny: I never did finish this series. Of the 10 Amber books, I think I read only the first five, but it’s been a really, really long time. I should read the entire series, start to finish — and I’d really love to spend more time in this world, thinking about the labyrinth.

amber

7) The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman: It hasn’t been that many years since I first read this one, but I’ve only read it once and feel like I’d enjoy absorbing more of the story and the atmosphere during a 2nd go-round.

graveyard book

8) Some older Stephen King: Could be any of his earlier works, but I’m leaning toward re-reading The Stand or The Eyes of the Dragon.

the standdragon

9) Anything by Louisa May Alcott, other than Little Women: I’ve read Little Women probably a dozen times, but there are quite a few books by Louisa May Alcott which I read once and barely remember now, such as Little Men, Jo’s Boys, Rose in Bloom, and Eight Cousins.

rose in bloom

10) His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman: I re-read The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife back when The Amber Spyglass was about to be released, but that’s already a long time ago. I think it might be fun to read all three books straight through, even though I’m dreading the heartbreak that certain parts will inevitably bring me.

HisDarkMaterialsUS

 

What books are are you itching to re-read?

Share your links, and I’ll come check out your top 10!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly feature, Thursday Quotables. Happy reading!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Most Unique Books I’ve Read… in 5 words or less*

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic focuses on books that we consider unique. I had a hard time narrowing it down to a manageable list, until I decided on a guiding principle: To make the list, I had to be able to come up with a “tagline” of 3 – 5 words that captures the spirit of what makes the book unique.

Without further ado, my list of unique books… in 5 words or less!

1) The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell: Jesuits in Space!

the sparrow

2) Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore: Jesus’s Wacky Sidekick!

lamb

3) Room by Emma Donoghue: Five-Year-Old Narrator!

room

4) The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion: Love, Quirks, and Lobster!

rosie

5) The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger: Disappearing Husbands Are A Pain!

TTW

6) Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith: Apocalypse By Praying Mantis!

grasshopper jungle

7) The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker: Mythical Creatures Take New York!

golem

8) Fingersmith by Sara Waters: Con Artists Need Love Too!

fingersmith

9) Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan: Evil Parents Suck! Teens Rule!

runaways

10) Every Day by David Levithan: Different Day, Different Body! (Whoa…)

every day

What are the most unique books that you’ve read? Share your links, and I’ll come check out your top 10!

*Yeah, yeah, I know… but “5 words or fewer” just doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday. Happy reading!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books That Will Make You Swoon

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Top Ten Books That Will Make You Swoon. I’m not a very swoon-y person, but I’ll do my best! Here are books that I find utterly romantic or swoon-worthy — and in most cases, the swoon-worthy couple at the heart of it all.

1) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
♥ Jamie & Claire ♥
photo via Starz (http://www.starz.com/originals/outlander)

2) The Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger
♥ Alexia & Conall ♥

Soulless (Parasol Protectorate, #1)

3) Jane True series by Nicole Peeler
♥ Jane & *insert name of either of two love interests here* ♥

Tempest's Legacy (Jane True, #3)

4) Mariana by Susanna Kearsley
♥ too complicated to name names… ♥

Mariana

5) The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway
♥ Nick & Julia ♥

The River of No Return

6) Eagle in the Sky by Wilbur Smith
♥ Debra & David ♥

Eagle in the Sky by Wilbur Smith

7) Fables by Bill Willingham
♥ Snow White & Bigby Wolf ♥

Fables, Vol. 8: Wolves (Fables, #8)

8) Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
♥ Scarlett & Rhett ♥

gwtw

9) Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
♥ Sayuri & the Chairman ♥

Memoirs of a Geisha

10) The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
♥ Henry & Clare ♥

The Time Traveler's Wife

I decided to stick with love stories about adults this week, so no YA titles are included. (I do, however, have some supernatural beings… and I just never do manage to write a top 10 list that doesn’t include time travelers.)

What books do you consider swoon-worthy? Share your links in the comments!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday. Happy reading!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books That Made Me Cry

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Top Ten Books That Will Make You Cry.

Here are the books that caused the biggest waterworks for me in recent years:

1) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
(I feel pretty confident in predicting that this book will be at the top of every single list this week:)

The Fault in Our Stars

2) Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Code Name Verity

3) Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor & Park

4) A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

A Monster Calls

5) Before I Die by Jenny Downham

Before I Die

6) Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Wonderstruck

7) Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander, #2)

8) The Pact by Jodi Picoult

The Pact: A Love Story

9) Somewhere in Time by Richard Matheson

Somewhere In Time

10) The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler's Wife

Plus a few that I couldn’t squeeze into my top ten, but really do belong on a list of tear-soaked books:

Atonement by Ian McEwan
The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans
Cloud Nine by Luanne Rice
… and pretty much any teen tragedy by Lurlene McDaniel

Three of my top ten have to do with time travel — what does that say about me? I swear, I never (well, almost never) cry during Doctor Who episodes!

Have you cried over any of the books on my list? What books leave you in tears?

Now that we’ve talked about all the sad, I wish you all a day filled with rainbows and kitties. And lots of hugs.

rainbow kittie

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday. Happy reading!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!