Good morning, lovelies! Did everyone get what they wanted from Santa? If what you got is bookstore gift cards, then this post will help you spend them. It’s the end of 2016 and I’m back with my favorite books of the year. (Each title links to my review of the book)
In previous years this has been two posts: Favorites and Favorite Debuts because I simply had too many book loves. This year was different. Very different. It started out strong but by fall, reality took over my mental space and even my love of reading didn’t provide an escape. It’s been difficult for the blog because more often than not lately, I feel as if I can’t latch onto what I’m reading. As a result I only have ten books that I loved enough to rate 4.5 or 5 stars—which is my unscientific criteria for “favorite.
Keeping that in mind, I did have two books that stood out from the rest. Books I loved so much I’m already contemplating re-reading them. They are:
Wildly different, both of these books took over my heart and my mind. Forty Rooms did not get a lot of attention in the book world and I can see how for some it might be a bit out there, but for this woman it spoke to the journeys of all women. Deeply, wonderfully complex and profound. A Gentleman in Moscow is an easier pick. A lovely, intelligent tale with a hint of Eloise even though it’s about a man who is sentenced to house arrest in a Moscow hotel. For the rest of his life.
My other four favorite turned out to be a bit disparate which may be why they worked for me:
Melanie Benjamin does an outstanding job combining fact with fiction in The Swans of Fifth Avenue. The title refers to the wealthy Manhattan women who socialized with Truman Capote and who he later betrayed in his obsession for fame. This book qualifies as what my blogging buddy, Sarah calls Brain Candy—books that are light and yummy, but still smart.
Before the Wind is about the lives of family of racing sailors who live in Seattle. One of those novels that is quirky and funny, but gets to the heart of things.
Anna Quindlen is one of my go-to authors. I may not love everything she writes but at her worst it’s still deep like. Set in an economically depressed area constantly threatened by unethical big business Miller’s Valley ended up feeling timely and put faces to both sides of the story.
A smaller novel about a girl born with a genetic deformity that leaves her unable to live a normal life in 1915 Mississippi. Miss Jane is a somber novel, but ultimately beautiful in its portrayal of dignity. A concept that seems to be in very short supply these days which may be why the novel struck a chord.
My favorite debuts:
Tuesday Nights in 1980 is one of those hyper-kinetic novels that sweeps you up and in. A lot of components and they all work together to make an electrifying novel.
Coming-of-age in the restaurant world. The main character both finds herself and loses herself in Sweetbitter.
Another novel that felt relevant to the times. Aside from a clunky title (which makes perfect sense if you read the book), Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist is an adrenaline rush of a novel centered around the World Trade Organization riots in Seattle in 1999.
WOW. I can honestly say a non-fiction title has never in the history of this blog made onto my favorite books list! In the same way that the podcast Serial was addictive, Adnan’s Story is compulsive reading. Rabia Chaudry knows the case inside and out and manages to take an enormous amount of facts and legalese and turn it into intense reading.
What were your favorite books this year?
I got the Amor Towles lined up to read soon. I am really looking forward to it. The Swans of Fifth Avenue sounds very good too!
You’re killing. I’ve just added 40 Rooms (which I’d never heard of) and Before the Wind to my list. Thankfully the others were already there.
This post is like the story of our twinness…in sync on the brain candy and family stories and not as much on your very, very favorites! But, yay for some nonfiction on your list!
And – my list will come out tomorrow, but I came very very close to putting Before the Wind on there. Ended up not b/c I’m doing on Underrated Gems post later and it’ll be on that. My uncle’s niece on the other side of the family gave it to my sailor uncle for Xmas! Funny since I’d told him to read it over Thanksgiving.
This is an excellent list! I’m doing mine tomorrow and have only one that overlaps with you, but a few others were in the running. Many thanks to you and Sarah for bringing Before the Wind to my attention. It was great!
Here’s to 2017 being a better year for everything, (Ha! Or, at least for reading!)
Happy New Year!
I feel so out of it…I haven’t read any of these (yet….)
Don’t feel guilty! You were probably too busy living life and I just read about it because I can’t handle reality. You’ll get to them!
Forty Rooms! Are we the only ones who loved that beauty? After I read it I bought a copy and transferred all my flags from the library copy. Sad it didn’t get much love.
I almost tagged you in that post because you and April are the only two women I know who fell in love the way I did. I should have included it in my books that didn’t get enough love post, but that felt a bit evangelical!
Nice list. My husband loved the novel Before the Wind (he is a sailor) and I plan to get to it too. I haven’t heard of Forty Rooms before, so I will check it out. I’m still forming my list but so far I really liked Behold the Dreamers — my favorite debut novel for sure.
I had Forty Rooms on my list, but I couldn’t really remember why. So, thank you, you’ve convinced me to keep it there! I haven’t seen Miller’s Valley around much either – I haven’t read a book by Anna Quindlen in a long time…