My Top Ten Books of 2016 #Top10of2016 #FridayReads #Fridaybookshare #booklovers #bookblog

Before I go any further into the delightful literary depths, confronting and calling me, this year I feel I owe an ode to 2016 and in Ajooba tradition need to share my top ten books of last year. 

As in previous years, I went to Goodreads filtered books I had read in 2016 highest to lowest rating. On doing so I found I had awarded five stars to 48 books last year. 

Ignoring the duplicate in this list, I sat and stared at the books recalling what I could of them and how they made me feel. I started with the top three I liked best then worked my way down. 

Choosing and ordering my top ten is organic and relies solely on my gut feeling and memory of a book. Any book I awarded five stars is a book I loved reading. 

So without any further procrastination, here are my best books of 2016: 

10. Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler

I totally loved this retelling of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew and found the characters adorable. 

9. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

After years of being urged to read this by fellow bibliophiles I finally borrowed this one from my local library. The book I read was beautiful with blacked tinted pages. This book really sold me on the characters and was so well-written, even a fantasy/supernatural sceptic like me, loved it. 

8. The Girl Who Beat ISIS by Farida Khalaf

This book stayed with me long after I read it. The atrocities and crimes against humanity occurring outside our immediate environment is easy to overlook, but reading this book gave me great perspective into what’s important in life and how it’s possible to survive it given the right constitution and circumstances. A story of extreme bravery. 

7. The Color Purple by Alice Walker

A powerful read that I have been meaning to get around to in years and finally borrowed from the library. This book is hard to forget and I haven’t watched the controversial movie. I’m not sure I will, but never say never.

6. 11/22/63 by Stephen King

This epic story of time travel hooked me in and wouldn’t let go for seven hundred odd pages. Fantasy/supernatural is a hard sell for me as like Marmite I either love the concept or hate it. I remember this distinctly and fondly reminisce about the characters.

5. Me Before You by Jojo Moyles

Not a genre I dip into often, this contemporary romance had my emotions on edge and really affected me. I still remember many scenes in my imagination from the book and the raw feeling of loss never goes away when I think about it. Again, I have not seen the film, not sure if I will. 

4. A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding by Jackie Copeland

Another book that really resonated and touched me. Beautifully written and a real page turner. I easily flash back to the plot and emotions I experienced when I read this. 

3. The City of Mirrors (The Passage Trilogy Book 3) by Justin Cronin

An epic ending to an epic series and a book I have been waiting for with great anticipation. Sequels can easily disappoint, but this one definitely didn’t. Once I had finished it I wanted to read all three books again. As much as I loved this I think you’d be doing an injustice not to read all three books on series if you’re thinking of attempting this one. 

2. When I Was Invisible by Dorothy Koomson

An author that never fails to move me, this book resonated with me on so many levels. As well as being partially set locally to me, the story stayed with me and fed my curiosity as to how it would feel to disappear.

1. After The Crash by Michel Bussi

Gripping beyond belief and probably the most thrilling read of the year. The twists, turns, dead ends were all worth the ending in this book. As much as I loved every book on this list this is the one that gives me my fondest memories of 2016. 

You can click on the title of the books to take you to the blog post of my review of the book.