2016 was a pretty awful year for me, in both my personal and reading lives.  However, I did write a few review posts which was better than the previous year!  I'll do the same thing I did last year and participate in the survey by The Perpetual Page-Turner as well as my general overview.

Challenges in which I particpated:
Full House Reading Challenge 2016  (finished 22 of 25)
Ultimate Reading Challenge 2016
What's in a Name? 2016  (finished 2 of 6)
R.I.P. XI  (finished 4 of 4)

# of books read:
35
(down from 52 in 2015, 58 in 2014, 60 in 2013, 75 in 2012, 39 in 2011.  Up from 30 in 2010 & 28 in 2009.  Down from 48 in 2008 and 81 in 2007.)

Favorites (in order read):

Least favorite:
Nothing was awful this year, but my lowest rated were:
The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall  by: Katie Alender
The Zookeeper's Wife  by: Diane Ackerman

# of non-fiction:
4

Repeated authors:
Patrick Rothfuss (2) (The Kingkiller Chronicle)
Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (2) (The Illuminae Files)


14.  Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2016 to finally read:
Ready Player One  by: Ernest Cline and The Name of the Wind  by: Patrick Rothfuss

15.  Favorite passage/quote:  
"She said, 'Do you love me yet?'
He recoiled from her, from the look of her.  'You don't love me because you can't see me,' she said.  'Look! Look! I am beautiful now. I am beautiful.'"  -Bone Gap  by: Laura Ruby

16.  Shortest & longest books you read:
Shortest: The Bears on Hemlock Mountain  by: Alice Dagliesh (64 pages)
Longest:  The Wise Man's Fear  by: Patrick Rothfuss (994 pages)

17.  Book that shocked you the most:
There was a pretty shocking moment in Gemina  by: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff.

18.  OTP (one true pairing) of the year (you will go down with this ship!):
Nik & Hanna in Gemina

19.  Favorite non-romantic relationship of the year:
Parcival & Aech in Ready Player One  by: Ernest Cline

20.  Favorite book you reading 2016 by an author you've read previously:
Crooked Kingdom  by: Leigh Bardugo

21.  Best book you read in 2016 that you read based SOLELY on a recommendation from someone else/peer pressure:
Frozen Heat  by: Richard Castle

22.  Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2016:
My crushes on Jamie from the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon and Kaz from the Six of Crows series by Leigh Bardugo were just further cemented in the second books I read this year.

23.  Best 2016 debut you read:
I don't think I read any debuts.

24.  Best world building/most vivid setting you read this year:
Ready Player One or Crooked Kingdom

25.  Book that put a smile on your face/was the most FUN to read:
Bone Gap

26.  Book that made you cry or nearly cry:
The Nightingale  by: Kristen Hannah

The Winter People
By: Jennifer McMahon
Published: 2014
# of pages: 317
Challenge: R.I.P. XI
Official description:

West Hall, Vermont, has always been a town of strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter, Gertie. Now, in present day, nineteen-year-old Ruthie lives in Sara's farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister, Fawn. Alice has always insisted that they live off the grid, a decision that suddenly proves perilous when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished without a trace. Searching for clues, she is startled to find a copy of Sara Harrison Shea's diary hidden beneath the floorboards of her mother's bedroom. As Ruthie gets sucked deeper into the mystery of Sara's fate, she discovers that she's not the only person who's desperately looking for someone that they've lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.

My opinion:  I was going to read The Night Sister by the same author, but it wasn't available at the library.  The Winter People was, so I checked that out instead.  I'm glad I did because this book was a suspenseful read for the R.I.P. Challenge!  I was hooked the entire time.  I'm not going to lie; I'm not sure I was happy with the ending.  The pace at the end was a little rushed after all of the build up.  I didn't quite follow why Ruthie's story ended the way it did.  She made a decision that I didn't understand.  Overall, this was a fun, suspenseful read that I'd recommend to lovers of suspense, ghost stories, etc.

Why I gave this book 4/5 stars:  Mostly well written, characters I liked and related to, original story

Other reviews:

chrisbookarama

Have you reviewed this? Let me know and I'd be happy to post yours as well.

The Eye of the World
By: Robert Jordan

Series: Wheel of Time

Published: 1990

# of pages: 814

Challenge: Ultimate Reading Challenge

Official description:

The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

My opinion: With the exception of the flashback within a flashback (within a flashback?) chapters, this was a very well written novel that takes place in an amazingly well thought out fantasy world. It reminded me of Tolkien (Jordan claims he was inspired by Tolkien) and A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin and The Kingkiller Chronicle series by Patrick Rothfuss. 

I enjoyed all of the characters, especially Rand and Perrin (and each of their thoughts about how the other was more comfortable with women!). I'm interested to see what happens with each of the characters in the following books, but especially Rand and Perrin.

And seriously, what about that last paragraph!? I feel like I could be content with waiting a long time to read the next book (which is what I usually do with long series with long individual books like A Song of Ice and Fire and Outlander, etc), but after reading the last paragraph I want to immediately jump into the next book to see what's happening! However, it took me a L.O.N.G. time to get through The Eye of the World. I think it would have been slow going at times even if I was my normal reading obsessed self, but life hasn't treated me so well this summer and it's affected my reading habits. Right now I want to concentrate on my R.I.P. Challenge book choices which are shorter and suspenseful and will maybe pull me out of my reading slump! I was planning to start the next Wheel of Time book next year, but I'm thinking that maybe after October 31 and the R.I.P. Challenge, I'll pick up book #2 to find out what happens next! 

The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts
By: Joshua Hammer

Published: 2016

# of pages: 280

Challenge: Full House, What's in a Name?

Official description:  To save precious centuries-old Arabic texts from Al Qaeda, a band of librarians in Timbuktu pulls off a brazen heist worthy of Ocean’s Eleven.
In the 1980s, a young adventurer and collector for a government library, Abdel Kader Haidara, journeyed across the Sahara Desert and along the Niger River, tracking down and salvaging tens of thousands of ancient Islamic and secular manuscripts that had fallen into obscurity. The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu tells the incredible story of how Haidara, a mild-mannered archivist and historian from the legendary city of Timbuktu, later became one of the world’s greatest and most brazen smugglers.
In 2012, thousands of Al Qaeda militants from northwest Africa seized control of most of Mali, including Timbuktu. They imposed Sharia law, chopped off the hands of accused thieves, stoned to death unmarried couples, and threatened to destroy the great manuscripts. As the militants tightened their control over Timbuktu, Haidara organized a dangerous operation to sneak all 350,000 volumes out of the city to the safety of southern Mali.
Over the past twenty years, journalist Joshua Hammer visited Timbuktu numerous times and is uniquely qualified to tell the story of Haidara’s heroic and ultimately successful effort to outwit Al Qaeda and preserve Mali’s—and the world’s—literary patrimony. Hammer explores the city’s manuscript heritage and offers never-before-reported details about the militants’ march into northwest Africa. But above all, The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu is an inspiring account of the victory of art and literature over extremism.

My opinion: I wish this book had pictures and more descriptions of the actual librarians who risked their lives to save the manuscripts. The book mainly concentrates on the terrorism in Mali and North Africa, which is necessary to the story of the libraries. The problem for me is that there were more details about the terrorists themselves, including the history of several of the leaders, than about the librarians. The only librarian that is really discussed is Haidara, and he didn't physically transport the books. It was awesome that he organized everything, but I wish the readers could learn more about his nephew Touré and others who were smuggling the books.

Why I gave this book 3/5 stars: Interesting read about a subject I had never heard of before, but most of the book had nothing to do with the title, which leads readers to believe they will be reading about true heroes and not the "bad guys."

Other reviews:
Have you reviewed this? Let me know and I'd be happy to post yours as well.

Bone Gap
By: Laura Ruby

Published: 2015

# of pages: 373

Challenge: Full House, Ultimate Reading Challenge

Quote: "She said, 'Do you love me yet?'
He recoiled from her, from the look of her.  'You don't love me because you can't see me,' she said.  'Look!  Look!  I am beautiful now.  I am beautiful.'"

Official description:  Everyone knows Bone Gap is full of gaps—gaps to trip you up, gaps to slide through so you can disappear forever. So when young, beautiful Roza went missing, the people of Bone Gap weren’t surprised. After all, it wasn’t the first time that someone had slipped away and left Finn and Sean O’Sullivan on their own. Just a few years before, their mother had high-tailed it to Oregon for a brand new guy, a brand new life. That’s just how things go, the people said. Who are you going to blame?
Finn knows that’s not what happened with Roza. He knows she was kidnapped, ripped from the cornfields by a dangerous man whose face he cannot remember. But the searches turned up nothing, and no one believes him anymore. Not even Sean, who has more reason to find Roza than anyone, and every reason to blame Finn for letting her go.
As we follow the stories of Finn, Roza, and the people of Bone Gap—their melancholy pasts, their terrifying presents, their uncertain futures—acclaimed author Laura Ruby weaves a heartbreaking tale of love and loss, magic and mystery, regret and forgiveness—a story about how the face the world sees is never the sum of who we are.

My opinion:  I usually don't enjoy books in the magical realism genre so much, but I loved Bone Gap. It was a well written, original story with a beautiful message.

Why I gave this book 5/5 stars:  Well written, beautiful message, identifiable characters

Other reviews:
things mean a lot

Have you reviewed this? Let me know and I'd be happy to post yours as well.

I'm also going to participate in the Ultimate Reading Challenge.  It isn't a sign up challenge, just a personal challenge to complete, but I will list out the categories and keep track of them on this post!

A book based on a fairy tale: The Wrath and the Dawn  by: Renee Ahdieh (based on A Thousand and One Nights...maybe not technically a fairy tale, but close enough)
A National Book Award winner:
A YA bestseller: Passenger  by: Alexandra Brecken
A book you haven't read since high school:
A book set in your home state:
A book translated to English:
A romance set in the future: Illuminae by: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
A book set in Europe: The Zookeeper's Wife  by: Diane Ackerman  (Poland)
A book that's under 150 pages: The Bears on Hemlock Mountain  by: Alice Dalgliesh  (64 pages)
A New York Times bestseller: The Nightingale  by: Kristen Hannah
A book that's becoming a movie this year:
A book recommended by someone you just met: Illuminae  by: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff  (does a recommendation from a new blog count?)
A self-improvement book: Women are Scary  by: Melanie Dale
A book you can finish in a day: 
A book written by a celebrity:
A political memoir:
A book at least 100 years older than you:
A book that's more than 600 pages: Dragonfly in Amber  by: Diana Gabaldon  (743 pages)
A book from Oprah's Book Club:
A science-fiction novel: Ready Player One  by: Ernest Cline
A book recommended by a family member: The Secret History  by: Donna Tartt (by my mom)
A graphic novel:
A book that is published in 2016:  Crooked Kingdom  by: Leigh Bardugo
A book with a protagonist who has your occupation:  Truly, Madly, Guilty  by: Liane Moriarty  (mom)
A book that takes place during Summer: Bone Gap  by: Laura Ruby
A book and its prequel: 
A murder mystery: Black Eyed Susans  by: Julia Heaberlin
A book written by a comedian:
A dystopian novel: The 100  by: Kass Morgan
A book with a blue cover: Gemina  by: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff












A book of poetry:
The first book you see in a bookstore:
A classic from the 20th century: The Eye of the World  by: Patrick Rothfuss
A book from the library: Boneshaker  by: Cherie Priest
An autobiography:
A book about a road trip: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry  by: Rachel Joyce
A book about a culture you're unfamiliar with: The Icarus Girl  by: Helen Oyeyemi (Nigerian)
A satirical book:
A book that takes place on an island: The Girl Who Wrote in Silk  by: Kelli Estes (Orcas Island, WA, USA)
A book that's guaranteed to bring you joy: