Best Books of 2016 - Big Reads Edition

I'm back, guys!

I took a little unintentional-that-turned-intentional blog/insta break, but I'm glad to be back!

These are the best books I read in 2016 (not necessarily published in 2016, just read by me in 2016. Also, they are in no particular order.)

A Man Called Ove was so bittersweet that it had me sobbing in my office at work by the end of the book. It's the story of a grumpy old man who loses his wife and isn't sure how to carry on without her.  I listened to it on audio, and I think that made all the difference.

Life After Life is a book that I bought for my kindle many moons ago and never really grabbed my attention when I tried to read it. Until this year. Excellent proof that there's a big difference between a book not being right for you and not being right for you right now. When I finally read it early this year, I was definitely kicking myself for not reading it earlier. It's fantastic and just so darn creative. Completely unlike anything else I've ever read. And definitely one I kept thinking about after I finished it.

The One-in-a-Million Boy was a What Should I Read Next? recommendation that was mentioned several times on the podcast, I think. Anne Bogel said repeatedly that she never would have picked this one up had it not been recommended to her by a trusted source, and I'm right there with her. It was a kindle daily deal one day, so I figured I would give it a shot and it was well worth it.

Inside Out and Back Again will make you realize that you don't have real problems. This was another What Should I Read Next? pick, and another kindle daily deal. It was also the first novel I've ever read in verse. I loved it and it won't be the last. I'm thinking One next...

A Monster Calls absolutely gutted me. I was NOT prepared for how sad and beautiful this story was. The movie is coming out next month, but I don't know if I'm going to see it in theaters. I'm quite sure I would embarrass myself by ugly crying through the last half of it.

Everything I Never Told You was the best book we read for our Mother Daughter Book Club this year. Great discussion followed. It was sad. Very sad. The story opens with "Lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet." and it just gets sadder as the story progresses. My mom doesn't usually like sad books, but she liked this one.

The Girl You Left Behind hit all my usual faves. WWII fiction? Check. Beautiful cover? Check. Little bit of love story but not a romance novel? Check. Intrigue and mystery? Check. Happy ending? Check and check.

Station Eleven is one I just read last month and it was so interesting! A flu wipes out ninety something percent of the population. Fifteen years later, a traveling symphony and acting troupe performs Shakespeare for settlements where survivors have gathered. This is one of those stories where the less you know about it going in, the better.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry was another grumpy old man story that was recommended on What Should I Read Next? Can you tell where I get all of my book recommendations? Seriously, if you're not listening to that podcast, you need to get on it. It's awesome. It was also another that was bittersweet and wonderful and if you like books about books, read this one asap.

Dark Matter was a freakin roller coaster. The ultimate "what if?" story. Plus that cover looks amazing wherever you put it.

What are the best books you read this year?

Big Reads: October Recap

Oh October... It felt like such a slump month for reading since I only read two books on my TBR for the month, but overall, I read quite a bit. Let's break it down:

• A Monster Calls - I did a full review of this one here. This has to be one of the most emotional books I've read all year. And one of the most beautiful. I highly recommend reading in one sitting, if you have the time.
• The Sea of Tranquility - This was a kindle daily deal a while ago, but I just got around to reading it this month. I enjoyed this one, but not enough to do a full review. It was a little too teen for me, I think. It's a girl meets boy story, only this girl doesn't speak and no one speaks to this boy, yet somehow they are drawn to each other.
• Modern Romance - A wonderful Instafriend sent this to me on audible. Did you know you can send audiobooks? I didn't either, but it sure was nice of @mogeorgie. I LOVE Aziz Ansari, and he definitely lives up to my expectations of this book. It was surprisingly research based. I was anticipating essays of dating anecdotes, but instead it's more about how people meet each other and date in the tinder era. And how having all these options might be making it harder for people to find love. My favorite part was how Aziz stops to tell you how lazy you are for listening to the audio instead of reading the book yourself. This happens at several points, usually when there is a visual (chart/graph) in the book that you obviously can't see in the audio format.
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - I have so enjoyed revisiting the world of Hogwarts these past few months (these are what I'm using my audible subscription for.) I say it every month, but Jim Dale is a fantastic narrator and as soon as I finish one book, I count down the days until my next credit is available. November will be my favorite Harry Potter book - The Order of the Phoenix and I can. not. wait.
• Lumberjanes - My library recently linked up with a new digital content service, Hoopla. And they have comics! So I decided to check out Lumberjanes since I've seen so much about it on #bookstagram and it looked super cute. Guess what? It totally was. The only thing I didn't like about it is that I read four issues in about 20 minutes. (I wish they lasted longer.) Friendship to the max!
• The Black Dagger Brotherhood - These are my guiltiest of guilty pleasures, but I love these freaking books so much. They're about a race of warrior vampires and the ladies they fall in love with. They're super steamy and the vampires names are always emotions or adjectives with unnecessary Hs in their name (Wrath, Rhage, Phury, Vishous, etc.) I revisited these this month and read through Vishous's book, I think. They're worth checking out if you're looking for something extra steamy.
• A Man Called Ove - I reviewed this one here. This is another What Should I Read Next? pick that I hope you read because I loved it so much. Have your tissues on standby when you check it out.
• The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves - After seeing so. much. hype. on #bookstagram, I decided to look into The Raven Cycle books. I love Maggie Stiefvater. I loved The Wolves of Mercy Falls book AND The Scorpio Races. It took me a while to get into these (I'm listening to them on audio as well) but once I did, I was IN IT. It helps that it's narrated by Will Patton. I put The Raven Boys on one night last week as I was going to sleep and now I will need Will Patton to read me a bedtime story every night, please and thank you. 
• Rebecca - I haven't quite finished this one. It was my pick for my Mother Daughter book club this month. I chose it for October because I've heard it was a wee bit spooky. My mom finished it already and not only did she not love it, but she said it's not spooky at all either. I'm enjoying it so far, so we shall see. 

In November, I'm going to try to catch up on my unread Book of the Month Club books. I've got about six waiting for me. What did you read it October?

Big Reads: A Man Called Ove

A Man Called Ove is another What Should I Read Next? recommendation. And boy is it a good one.

I was hesitant to try this book, even with the glowing recommendation on my favorite podcast. After reading the summary, it just didn't seem like something I would like to read. But it was available on audio from the new digital media service my library connected with, Hoopla. I decided to check it out since it was free. If I didn't like it, I definitely didn't have to finish it and I wouldn't be out any money. Very low risk, you see.

Then I started listening to it and I was just not feeling it. It's about a man (called Ove - duh) who is a huge grump. Enormous grump. Utterly insufferable grump. It was... not appealing... to listen to. But then it's revealed that Ove has decided to kill himself, but each attempt keeps getting interrupted by his nosy new neighbors. That's when things got interesting.

Ove, though he remained a huge crumedgeon, drew together an entire neighborhood and made the residents a family. He became an honorary grandfather (the kind that spoils his grandchildren rotten.) He provided a home for an ousted teen. He reunited a father and son. He punched a clown and got kicked out of a hospital. He stood up to the man and won.

A Man Called Ove is a book that will make you laugh on one page (about something completely unfunny, like suicide) and cry on the next (about something that should never make you cry, like an iPad.) And when I reached the end, I was at work, sitting in my office, and I just cried. Like boo-hooed, tears streaming down my face, ugly cried. And there was nothing I could do about it. So if you read A Man Called Ove, and I hope you do, have your tissues ready. Please excuse me while I go read everything Frederik Backman has ever written.