2016. That was a year. A year of a few personal highs and so many communal lows.
Anyway as I’ve done for several years now, I kept a list of all the books, audiobooks, comics and so on that I read over the year. It’s my way of keeping a record of the year, based on the stories I’ve consumed.
Now on to the numbers.
I read:
111 books in total
63 print books
48 audiobooks
10 Ebooks
39 comic books (I count trade paperback collections and single issues read as a full arc together, but not single issues read month to month as they’re released)
11 short story collections or novellas (don’t count single short stories read outside of collections)
16 borrowed from the library
25 borrowed from friends
1 read for critique
37 YA
15 Middle Grade
Favorite reads:
Nimona, Noelle Stevenson
The Raven Cycle books 2 through 4, Maggie Stiefvater (I read book 1 in a previous year)
Kindred Spirits, Rainbow Rowell
The Girl With All the Gifts, M.R. Carey
Honorable mentions:
The New Moon’s Arms by Nalo Hopkinson
Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy
Rose Under Fire, Elizabeth Wein
Black Out and All Clear, Connie Willis
The Lunar Chronicles Books 2 through 4.5, Marissa Meyer
The Paradox Trilogy, Rachel Bach
Favorite author numbers:
Suzanna Clarke 1
Noelle Stevenson 5
Neil Gaiman 2
Jasper Fforde 1
Maggie Stiefvater 3
Gene Luen Yang 2
Rainbow Rowell 1
J.K Rowling 1
G. Willow Wilson 5
Marissa Meyer 5
Jonathan Carroll 1
Connie Willis 2
Sarah Vowell 2
Lish McBride 1
Carrie Fisher 2 (I’m still processing her loss)
Holly Black 2
Book related highlights:
Viable Paradise 20 was undoubtedly the best thing I did all year. It was incredible. I wish I could do it all over again. Thank you thank you to the instructors, staff, and fellow students for the amazing week.
There was also Wiscon. I participated in their one-day critique workshop. Went to panels, readings, and signings from the likes of Nalo Hopkinson, Charlie Jane Anders, and John Scalzi (who made a surprise appearance at the sign out). I ate breakfast for dinner with the Geek Girl Brunch Crew and geeked out about The Force Awakens.
Sadly I missed what was probably the last Nerdcon Stories because it conflicted with VP.
I read a story at the annual MinnSpec Reading.
And in March I went to London and Ireland for two weeks. It was a lovely trip. The book related highlights of the trip were taking a tour of the Globe Theatre, and the Harry Potter Studio tour. Though there were plenty of times where just walking the streets and riding the tube brought up associations with books. Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere and Connie Willis’s Oxford time Travel series in particular.
Hey look it’s the Sorting Hat!
Hey look it’s a phoenix.
Hey look it’s Shakespeare’s Globe.
Hey look it’s Saint Paul’s Cathedral. Mr. Dunworthy’s team must have figured out how to save it after all!
Finally, I’ll leave you with a picture of my to-read shelves. It’s kind of out of hand and doesn’t even include the audiobooks, ebooks, and comics.
So many books.
These are the ones I plan to read first.
2017 please be gentle with us.
I love your to-read piles. Mine look something like that. I almost bought myself Pioneer Girl for Christmas but didn’t. I’m curious to know how it is.