Best Reads of 2016 and the Year in Reading

My 10 best reads in the year 2016

They say better late than never. Besides, it's still Chinese New Year's eve somewhere in the world. So.

Anyway, yes, this blog is still around. Mostly for sentimental reasons. And if there's one thing I have never missed in the 8 years that this blog has been live, it's posting my ten best reads of the past year. Obviously a bit late this time around, since I usually post this a few hours (or minutes!) before midnight of January first. But there was a family vacation, and then recovering from the family vacation, and then catching up with work, etc. etc....you know how that goes.

Also, unlike last year, I didn't have the energy to do an in-depth analysis, with charts, of the books I read. Instead, I have some quick and dirty figures. For instance:

• I read 68 books last year - A far cry from my Goodreads goal of 100. My original goal was 60, which I changed to 100 because I figured I should count the children's books I've read. I did, for a day. And then I didn't. Ah well. 
• Sixty-five percent (65%) were written by females. - At least, biologically so. Except for Charlie Jane Anders, whom I classified as female. I apologize I wasn't more accurate about gender, but I didn't have the time to Google each author I wasn't sure about. 
• Forty-six percent (46%) were published in 2016, and sixteen percent (16%) will be published in 2017. - Logical, considering the job. And pretty cool, to be honest.
• Sixty-three percent (63%) of the books I read are published by Penguin Random House US or publishers distributed by PRH. - Ditto with bullet point #3.
• Twelve percent (12%) were written by Filipino  or Fil-Am authors. - I should read more, frankly. 

I would've honestly wanted to match my 88 books read in 2015. But it turns out my colleagues' warning is true: even in our job, it's not as easy to carve out time to just read. Can't complain, though. I work in books.

Here are all the books I was able to finish in 2016.

Books read in 2016

And from these titles, I present my top ten reads, in order of date read. As always, I chose titles that gave me a good reading experience. And I think this past year, it meant books that I loved because, in one way or another, they surprised me.

REBEL OF THE SANDS by Alwyn Hamilton - I know this phrase sounds trite now, but the heroine is kickass. Moreover, the romance, though it's there, isn't central to the story. And I like that. Also, I've always been a sucker for stories with djinn. Oh, new cover for the upcoming trade paperback edition, by the way!

A HUNDRED THOUSAND WORLDS by Bob Proehl - What I love about this book is how geeky it can get, plus its always-interesting discussion of the ins and outs of publishing; this time comic book publishing. But what surprised me is how beautifully it describes the act of creating a story. Enough to elicit a tear, I kid you not. By the way, the coming trade paperback also has a pretty new cover.

THE SUFFERING by Rin Chupeco - I loved Rin's first book, The Girl From The Well. But this one, I must say, is scarier. More female ghosts, a haunted forest, and an exceptionally freaky haunted village. 

MONSTERS: A LOVE STORY by Liz Kay - I think my Goodreads review summarizes what I think about this book pretty well. (Seriously, it's a good Goodreads review. :D )

ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE by Gail Honeyman - (release date: May 9, 2017) I read the manuscript of this book, because it was one of the hot titles in the Frankfurt Book Fair a couple of years ago. I can see why. I love Eleanor. Love her to bits. Because she's no nonsense, strong, but also wounded. I'd like to hug her, though I highly doubt she would let me. I love how gruff she is, but she didn't even realize she was working on herself. And apart from this amazing character, the book itself was funny. I sincerely hope a lot of people get to read it and fall in love with Eleanor, too.

THE LIE TREE by Frances Hardinge - This was recommended by a friend, who has excellent taste, which means I shouldn't have been surprised at how good it is. But I was. Like, awesomely good. I thought it was just another Victorian mystery, with some elements of fantasy. But it was way more than that. In a subtle way at the beginning and then like a sledgehammer towards the end, it talks about women who aren't seen. And how dangerous it is not to see these women. When Patrick Ness says you should read all of Frances Hardinge's work, I think you should believe him.

THE WANDERERS by Meg Howrey - (release date: March 4, 2017) I read the manuscript for this one, too. And I didn't know what to expect from a book that was supposed to be a cross between The Martian and Station Eleven, but I did not think it would be about what makes astronauts tick, or what kind of psychological and emotional state they should have, or what happens to the families they leave behind when they go on their months-long missions. It was beautiful. 

BIG LITTLE LIES by Lianne Moriarty - A colleague kept telling me to read Lianne Moriarty. I ignored it until I saw that there was going to be an HBO series and it had Alexander Skarsgard in it. What can I say? I'm easy like that. But what I didn't expect was that the book would be funny and would also have a lot to say about what women go through. And the way Moriarty unfurls the plot is wonderful.

NIMONA by Noelle Stevenson - This was one of the books I bought for my son, because occasionally, I find it hard to justify buying another book for me when I have a ton to read. Anyway, because I'm a mom, I read it first before giving it to him. And by golly, Nimona was such fun. Starts out funny and then gets weightier towards the end. But still funny. When I finally gave it to my son, he kept rereading it for a month. 

BEGINNER'S GUIDE: LOVE AND OTHER CHEMICAL REACTIONS by Six de los Reyes - I'd been reading more #romanceclass novels this year, because I love what those guys do. (You know...they don't wait for things to get handed to them or pander to people. They figure things out on their own and go do it.) And this particular title, let me tell you, made it to NPR's 2016 Book Concierge, which is a summary of the best books in 2016, as determined by NPR's editors! Pretty fancy for an indie-published ebook by a Filipino author! Anyway, that's why I read it. But the reason this book is in my top 10 is that I loved it. It was consistently nerdy, the main characters were adorable, and the love scene was pretty hot (which I'm sure you'll agree is a big plus for a romance novel). NPR was not wrong at all. 

So that was my 2016 reading year. And now, almost a whole month into 2017, I've read 5 books. I'm gunning for reading more this year and, more importantly, coming across more surprising books. And who knows, I might even update this blog more often than twice a year. Here's to hoping.

A belated Happy New Year to all and Gong Xi Fa Cai!