TOP TEN TUESDAYS | Best of 2016

… according to yours truly. I’m hoping to read 80 books this year. I have a few days left to read 3 more; I’m on 77 as of right now.

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday, we’re listing down the Top Ten Best Books Of 2016 (you choose — best books overall of what you read regardless of pub date, of a particular genre, 2016 debuts, 2016 releases, etc)

This will be in no particular order. I more than doubled my reading this year compared to 2015 but choosing 10 of my very best reads this year wasn’t easy. I do have clear favorites and some, I had to think long and hard to justify them being on this list. As you know, I’m generous with my 5- and 4-star ratings. It doesn’t take much to make me like a book. I could say that I like a handful of my reads quite equally.

So, in an equal opportunity environment, how does one create a TOP ten list? I tried, you guys. Tried. Needless to say, this is in no particular order:

1. Morning Star by Pierce Brown. Oh, man. This is everything I ever wanted from a series ender. I dropped everything the day this book came out. I had a signed copy on pre-order but still bought an e-book just so I can read it right away. I didn’t have the best beginnings with this trilogy but by the end of the 2nd book, Pierce Brown joined my list of auto-buy authors.
2. Ring by Koji Suzuki. I literally just finished this book last night in between episodes of Sweetness and Lightning. While events vary a bit from the movie, the mood and premise remain as creepy as ever. As with a lot of Japanese fiction, it’s told in the most nonchalant, straightforward way. It never makes huge deals out of rape, abuse, death, etc. And that is what makes it so creepy. I knew I was going to like this going in and I was right. I can’t wait to tackle the rest of the series next year.
3. The Legend trilogy by Marie Lu. I started the year off with Legend and ended it with Champion. I also read the two graphic novels as catch up. I cannot wait for the 3rd graphic novel. That ended made me sob. I need more angst like that. I don’t get very much angst from novels; not the way I get them from fan fiction. I know this is an older trilogy but I still liked it. Yes, it’s trope-y but mind you, I didn’t jump on that YA train until it started to die down. I loved Day and everything he stood for. It wasn’t a 100% happy ending. Everyone lost, everyone is flawed… it was just so beautiful.
4.  A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab. I was going to WonderCon 2016 and I saw that she has several panels scheduled. I honestly never read anything from her before but I was compelled to pick up this book. I inhale-read it just in time for her panel. I then bought Vicious at the convention and A Gathering of Shadows (which I haven’t read yet) signed. I also have some of her YA books but I think I prefer her adult ones.
5. Vicious  by VE Schwab. While we’re on the subject. If I had to choose, I like Vicious more than ADSOM. I like me some dark anti-hero, anti-villain action. It’s about revenge and the characters are so rich… it’s almost a noir. Think a season of American Horror Story. It’s a book where all of them are villains but they’re not on the same side. I love it. It totally works as a standalone but I do hope that there’s at least one more book in the works.

   

6. Audition by Ryu Murakami. I read a couple of Murakami-san’s works this year and I think this is my favorite. Piercing is a close second but Audition, man. And I thought the movie was disgustingly creepy. Again with that Japanese way of telling a story in a straightforward way. Topics of gore seem more disgusting when told in such an emotionless way. And it just ends.
7. Eon duology by Alison Goodman. I liked Eon more than Eona but as a duology, this was amazing. It kept me on the edge of my seat most of the time. The world-building was superb. There was a lot of Asian themes and it was done really well even though the author is not Asian. The magic system was unique and quite frankly, empowering to women. Not to mention there’s a strong trans character and her love interest.
8. Confessions by Kanae Minato. I’ve sung praises for this book since I read this. If you’re to read only one Japanese fiction, read this. You won’t regret it. You’ll want more. It is about a teacher whose child was murdered by one of her students. Told in several perspectives, each one more terrifying than the previous POV. I’ve yet to watch the live action adaptation but for now, this book… wow.
9. Gekkan Shoujo, Nozaki-kun by Izumi Tsubaki. I’ve read a couple of manga and graphic novels this year but this takes the cake. I loved the anime adaptation and I loved the manga even more. It’s still on-going so I hope I can keep up with it.
10. Wolf by Wolf duology by Ryan Graudin. I can’t decide which one I like more, Wolf by Wolf or Blood For Blood. This duology touched all my feelz. I got so attached to a character and it broke my heart. And I hated one character so hard that I actually put the book down for a bit. I’m so glad I decided to pick this up. It got me in the mood for alternate history, historical fiction.

If you check out my Goodreads, there’s a lot of 5-star reads that are not here. I might have rated them highly but that doesn’t mean they’re my favorites. I could rate something a 3-star and still end up a fave. This was not an easy list to make. My list of least favorites was easier… 😉