Friday, January 13, 2017

BOOK CHAT: The Best of 2016


We are almost half-way through January, so it is time to get the rest of these annual year-end posts shared with all of you.  I still have one more that I want to get posted, so that will likely come early next week.  This is one of my favorites to share every year, but it is also one that takes some time to prepare because I have to go back and look at all the details of the books and the blog.  In the end, it is completely worth the fun to see the end result.  It's a little reminiscing about the best of the year, and it's a help to me in planning for the new year. With that, let's take a look, starting with the favorite blog posts from the year.

TOP TEN BLOG POSTS  

There are two different categories for the favorite blog posts:  the number of comments and the number of hits.  I decided not to break it down evenly this year, but in the end it still adds up to ten.  That's all that matters.  Each of these lists are ranked, starting with the highest comments/hits.

TOP COMMENTS
  1. #BBAW (Book Blogger Appreciation Week):  Books = Me
  2. #BBAW (Book Blogger Appreciation Week):  A Conversation Between Two Bloggers
  3. Spring 2016 Bloggiesta
  4. Announcing the #SchoolsOutRAT (School's Out Readathon)

TOP HITS
  1. Hinges of Broams Eld by Jennifer Cano
  2. Interview With Sara Dobie Bauer, Author of BITE SOMEBODY
  3. #30Authors Presents Sara Dobie Bauer on The Book Thief
  4. Announcing the #SchoolsOutRAT (School's Out Readathon)
  5. Author Jamie Ford Shares His Favorites
  6. Operation #ReadSherlock Guest:  The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes

I was so excited to see many of these posts on the top list, especially a book review that I feel needs a bit more love.  I also hope to be participating in all those events highlighted, especially the two that I hosted myself:  #SchoolsOutRAT and Operation #ReadSherlock!


TOP NINE PICS

I'm sticking with the easy route on the pics for the year, just like I did last year, and am using #2016bestnine.  This is an app that pulls your most liked pictures from Instagram for the year, and creates a nice little collage.  I've included the stats with the picture for some additional fun information.



TOP TEN READS

I have saved the best for last:  my favorite reads of the year!  Before I dive into the list of books, let's look at the stats.  I read a total of 59 books, a significant decrease from previous years.  The total number of pages read was approximately 18,500.  Now, for the favorites of those numbers . . . 

This first collage features my reads that I ranked the highest on Goodreads after reading each one.  At the end of the year as I reviewed those ratings, I definitely agree that each of these books were standouts for the year.


Listed in no particular order:
  1. The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian
  2. The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
  3. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by John Tiffany, Jack Thorne, and J.K. Rowling
  4. Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian
  5. The Girls With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
  6. Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier
However, I still believe that there are a number of books that did not make the list that should have, so that's where these last four books come into play.  Because they stand as my favorites at the end of the year because I'm still thinking about them.


Again, listed in no particular order:
  1. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
  2. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
  3. Bite Somebody by Sara Dobie Bauer
  4. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
If I had to absolutely narrow down my favorite read of the year to just one, I honestly could not do it.  But, I could narrow it down to two, and both of them are new (or at least new-to-me) authors. I can't wait to read more!!




Even if I didn't get to read as much as I would have liked during 2016, I did read a lot of good books throughout the year.  Here's to another great year in reading and blogging, preferably even better, in 2017!

What are some of your favorites from 2016?  

6 comments:

  1. You liked The Girl With All The Gifts that much? How did I miss this? I liked it but it wasn't a favorite. I want to read Ghosts. Need to get my hands on it. I'm glad you like much of what you read. Have a great 2017!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jenny ... I really did! I listened to it on audio, and honestly, the narrator was really good and I think it played a huge part into my love for the book. I'm not sure I would have liked it as much if I had been reading a physical version.

      Ghosts is a really good one! I hope you can find a copy soon.

      Happy reading in 2017!

      Delete
  2. I was just saying that I need to read more Chris Bohjalian as his new book is making the rounds. I enjoyed him in the past.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kailana ... I've been seeing some good things about his new book. I can't wait to read that one!!

      Delete
  3. I'm so excited that #30Authors was so great for you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Allison @ The Book Wheel ... Me too! I always seem to get paired with such a great author too!!

      Delete

Thank you in advance for your comments! I love to hear reader's thoughts and respond to each one within the comment section. Please feel free to subscribe to the comment feed to ensure you can fully participate in the conversations.

Comments on posts older than 14 days are first approved through comment moderation. Word verification should not be turned on, so please notify me if it randomly appears.