2016 Top Tens: Books

This was a year full of good books! I had a difficult time narrowing it down to just ten. As always these are books that may have been published before 2016, but I read them for the first time in 2016. (Also, these are just from my print and ebook reads, because I usually forget to keep track of my audiobook reads. Oops.) If you want to see other books I read this year, check out this Pinterest board.

10.) Storming by K.M. Weiland

Dieselpunk is a new genre for me, but I’d read some of K.M. Weiland’s books before and love her writing blog, so I gave this one a try. I really liked it! The characters were interesting, and I loved the historical elements with the blend of scifi. Very cool.

9.) Symphony For the City of the Dead by M. T. Anderson

I read a lot of nonfiction this year, mostly in the form of audiobooks, but this one caught my eye at the library because of its vivid cover. It was an interesting look at Russia during WWII, and I learned quite a few things I didn’t know.

8.) The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye

This one was an interesting historical fantasy that I’d heard about through different book blogs and decided to try. Love the cover, and I’m eager to see where the next book takes the story. And that ending.

7.) Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit

This was a really good story that has been on my shelf for years that I finally decided to read. It’s a quick read, but intriguing.

6.) The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

My only experience with this one prior to reading it was the Tom Cruise movie of the same name. Which I hated. But I picked this one up because the cover was cool. I was caught up in the story from the first page and curious to see how it would unfold.

5.) Heartless by Marissa Meyer

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year. I liked Marissa Meyer’s take on Wonderland, with its quirky characters and wild environments. While I didn’t enjoy it as much as The Lunar Chronicles, I still liked it. (And Jest has one of the coolest character introductions I’ve ever read.)

4.) The Watch That Ends the Night by Allan Wolf

I picked this one up at the library without knowing anything about it except what was on the cover. I fell in love with the writing and the structure, and how the formatting was used in the storytelling as well.

3.) Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

I liked this whole series a lot, but the first book is my favorite. I loved the characters and the plot twists, and the whole idea of superpowered people not quite being what everyone expected. It’s an interesting read with tons of sarcasm. And terrible metaphors.

2.) Masque by W. R. Gingell

I got this one because I loved the cover and also because it was pitched as murder mystery-meets-fairy tale retelling. It was so good! I had predicted who the villain was pretty early in the story, but I still enjoyed seeing just how the investigation would wrap up.

1.) Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

This book was such a lovely addition to the TLC series. I loved all the short stories that expanded the universe as well as the characters’ stories. And the wedding was so perfect. This book made me very happy.

 

What were your favorite books of 2016?