Best Books of 2016

Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. It's the end of the year so it's time to talk about our favorite books of 2016!

I compiled this list by looking at my books in Goodreads to which I assigned 5 stars, and then picking out the ones I read for the first time in 2016.

Here are those six books:

1. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Far and away my most anticipated and favorite book of the year.

2. My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbelestier
This probably is my second favorite. Psychologically creepy!

3. Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
I read it twice. Once in print and again in audio. I didn't blog about it the second time because it was so soon after the first, but Cassandra Campbell's narration was excellent.

4. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
I read this one twice this year too because my book group at work picked it. It was just as good the second time.

5. The Crown by Kiera Cass (The Selection #5)
I loved every book in this series. I listened to them all on audio and they were just perfect. I credit this series for my recent healthy running habit, which I fear will now suffer because no other audiobooks can keep me going. I just forgot what I was doing because I was so immersed and invested in this story.

6. The Expatriates by Janice Y.K. Lee
One of my most anticipated books of 2016, it came out waaay back in January. I was pleasantly surprised that although it was a very different book from The Piano Teacher, it was probably just as good.

Since I was trying for 10, next I went through my 4-star books to see if any of those stood out. And there were 12. (But the first 3 on this list are my top picks from this group so I guess I do have a top 9.)

7. An Untamed State by Roxane Gay

8. The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

9. Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

10. One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

11. Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman by Lindy West

12. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

13. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

14. Wild Swans by Jessica Spotswood

15. Hild by Nicola Griffith

16. The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

17. A Tyranny of Petticoats, edited by Jessica Spotswood

18. Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones

So my Top Ten Tuesday started at 6 and then leapfrogged to 18. Which is what happens when you try to pick favorites in an honest way - you can't force it to a particular number.

What were you favorite books this year?

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (2000), narrated by Jim Dale

(This post contains spoilers, so beware if you haven't read this book or watched the movie.)

In this fourth installment of the Harry Potter series, the Triwizard Tournament is taking place at Hogwarts. Two other wizarding schools have brought students to enter the competition along with students from Hogwarts. Those who wish to enter must be at least 17, and they enter by putting their name on a slip of paper and dropping it into the Goblet of Fire. The Goblet then chooses a Champion from each school to compete. The three contestants must all complete three difficult tasks to gain points and win the Triwizard Cup and a monetary prize. On the day the three Champions were chosen by the Goblet of Fire, it unexpected chose a fourth: Harry Potter. This was a surprise because not only was it unprecedented to have a fourth contestant, and not only was Harry to young to compete, but he didn't actually enter.

In addition to the Triwizarding events, the school year proceeds as usual. This year's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is Mad-Eye Moody. He's an auror- something new we learned about in this book- who are highly-trained officers for the Ministry of Magic who hunt dark witches and wizards. This book is also where we learn of the three unforgivable curses: The Cruciatus Curse, The Imperious Curse, and Avada Kedavra, the Killing Curse. Another character we meet for the first time is Rita Skeeter, a reporter prone to exaggeration who starts all sorts of rumors that cause trouble for Harry this year. Also, we were introduced to nifflers, which I would have completely forgotten about had I not just watched Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (an entertaining enough movie that was pretty thin on plot.)

This is also the book in which Ron is an asshole to everyone. When Harry is chosen for the Tournament their friendship suffers. Ron won't believe that Harry didn't actually enter. He was also an insensitive jerk to Hermione when it came time to pick dates for a big ball and Ron assumed he'd be able to go with her as a last resort. He was very surprised to find out that she already had a date. (It's some comfort to know that his appreciation for her increases a lot later.) As much as I wanted to smack him, I'm enjoying the way their friendships all change and grow over the years.

The part I kept dreading was the very sad death of Cedric Diggory. But it was followed by a rousing speech by Dumbledore, which struck me so much I'm going to share the whole thing here:

"I say to you all, once again -- in the light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.

It is my belief -- and never have I so hoped that I am mistaken -- that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you in this Hall have already suffered directly at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder. A week ago, a student was taken from our midst.

Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."

Dumbledore's warnings about Voldemort and and pleas for everyone to come together have a very familiar ring to me right now, in 2016 in America. It's also an ominous warning of things to come, because it is here that these books begin to take a pretty dark turn. I'm very much looking forward to the last few books in the series.

I was worried about listening to the audio of this one because it's SO much longer than the others, and longer than any audiobook I've listened to before. It helps that it's not my first time with the story because it really did take me a few weeks. The 21 hours was long, but the next book is 27 so that's potentially an extra whole week. However, I think I'm up to it and the last two are a littler shorter again. I'm looking forward to finishing this series in early 2017!

Unmentionable

Unmentionable: the Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners by Therese Oneill (2016)

Newly-published in November, this guide to Victorian day-to-day life for women focuses on the less-revealed details of sex, menstruation, bathroom habits, birth control, and marriage. Presented as a guided tour to someone traveling from the 21st century, the second-person narration uses information primarily from contemporary guides to instruct the reader in how to behave and take care of herself in the Victorian period.

Generously illustrated with photos and advertisements, it was a speedy whirlwind tour through life in the 1800s. In addition to the scandalous subjects above, Oneill also delves into diet, bathing, hysteria, and general social manners, so the more (scandalous) topics didn't get quite the in-depth treatment I was hoping for.

So what tips and advice can you hope to learn from this colorful guide? For one, you learn that women didn't wear underwear during this period because of the logistics involved in squatting over a chamber pot wearing a cage crinoline. In the chapter on bathing you learn about all the heavy floral perfumes everyone doused themselves in to hide their stink. (The author was clear that the Victorian period was quite aromatic.) The most common and effective method of birth control at the time was withdrawal, which was considered almost as dangerous as masturbation since it has the same result (i.e. "wasting seed") and could cause all manner of disastrous health conditions, such as sterility, vision problems, memory loss, and uterine disease. (Aren't you glad we have better birth control these days? Ha!)

Although I think there is some good information here, the style is so unrelentingly tongue-in-cheek I wasn't sure how much to believe and how much was exaggeration added for comic effect. The bibliography consists primarily of books of advice from the time, and though they're certainly a window into the mindset that prevailed in terms of what was published, that's like using Martha Stewart Living or Cosmopolitan to describe how women live in the 21st century.

It's fun to mock Victorian people and their silly ill-informed ways, and if you learn something along the way, that's great. But I'm not overly fond of ridiculing and dismissing people of the past just because they didn't know what we know now. I'd rather know why they thought the things they thought and lived the way they did but the author didn't examine the broader context. There were even a couple of parts where she asks questions for humor's sake that she should have been able to answer. ("What does a hall usher even do?" Well, you're the one researching the period for this book, so you tell me.)

However, it doesn't promise to be scholarly. In the introduction (titled "Hello, Slattern" - that was my first clue) the author says we'll be traveling between social classes, geographic area, and time, and may go a bit outside the bounds of the Victorian era "...the better to broaden your experience. Or just because it pleases me." And obviously any serious study isn't narrated by someone who continually addresses the reader as "lambkin." So I guess we shouldn't expect it to be anything but light-hearted humorous infotainment.

Despite its imperfections, I found this book rather fun and I recommend it if you're looking more for humor than education, but for a more thorough examination of the time I'd recommend the far superior How To Be a Victorian by Ruth Goodman.

The Sun Is Also a Star

The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (2016)

It's Natasha's last day in the United States. She's lived here since she was 8 and it's the only home she knows, but her family is here illegally and they're being deported tonight. Daniel is the son of immigrants who want the best life possible for him, so he's on his way to an interview for Yale even though he doesn't especially want to go there or become a doctor like his parents want him to. When Natasha and Daniel meet, spending time together becomes more important than anything else they are supposed to do, but the clock is ticking.

Told in alternating points of view by Natasha and Daniel, there are occasional chapters told by those around them including Natasha's father, Daniel's brother, a security guard at the immigration office, and an attorney. The way their lives intersect will make you think about destiny, fate, coincidence, and how everything in the universe leads up to a single moment.

Natasha is ruled by logic and reason. She loves science and math and believes that everything happens for a reason, but those reasons are cause-and-effect and coincidences, not magical. Daniel is a poet, and although his parents have already decided he'll go to Yale and become a doctor, he would rather follow his passions. He feels like he and Natasha were meant to meet today, and had they not met the way they did, surely they would have just crossed paths later. He believes in destiny. Despite their very different views they are inextricably drawn to each other, and watching how this plays out is pretty delightful.

Among the issues tackled are race and immigration. Daniel's Korean family own a store that sells black hair-care products, though his family members are fairly racist. His brother is simply horrible when he meets Natasha, and his father isn't much better. Natasha has bigger problems than these assholes though, since she's about to get kicked out of the country by a system she sees as unfair. She says "If people who were actually born here had to prove they were worthy enough to live in America, this would be a much less populated country." She also points out: "America's not really a melting pot. It's more like one of those divided metal plates with separate sections for starch, meat, and veggies." I felt so bad for Natasha, and of course it's worse to think about how real this situation is for so many people in America. I can't imagine being forced to leave the country I grew up in for a place that is considered dangerous and devoid of opportunities to have a fulfilling life.

The short chapters, short sentences, and snappy dialogue propel the reader through the story quickly, and because of the tension surrounding Natasha's impending deportation you'll just want to keep turning pages to find out what happens. This story asks a lot of big questions about the direction our lives take. It will give you a lot to think about, and I suspect you won't forget these characters or their stories anytime soon.

My Sister Rosa

My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier (2016)

Che is from Australia, but his family has been moving around for years, and now they are going to New York. His parents start up socially responsible companies and sell them, and his ten-year-old little sister is a psychopath. Literally. Che has been trying to keep her in check for years, alone, because nobody else will believe him that she is dangerous. With her blond hair and dimples, she's a picture of innocence and knows how to charm everyone. But Che isn't fooled. He just hopes he can keep her under control before she really hurts someone.

Just released in November, I've had my eye on this book for a while. The premise is incredibly intriguing, and I'm happy to report that Larbalestier does an amazing job delivering on it. Rosa is creepy! Super creepy! And there's more going on in the family that makes it even more complicated than it seems at first. I loved everything about it.

This is supposed to be a book for teens, and it definitely has teen appeal. Che is seventeen, and in addition to his problems with his sister, he's going through some typical teenage boy issues. He's really into boxing, but his parents think it's too violent so they've made him promise not to spar. But he really wants to and knows it will improve his overall skill at the sport. He also desperately wants a girlfriend and has a huge crush on Sojourner, another boxer at his gym. But she's super religious and said up front that even though she likes him, she won't date someone who isn't also religious. So, typical teenage boy struggles on top of the atypical ones. But the writing is more dense than is typical in a teen book and it's not as quick to read. Still, I read the last 150 pages in one sitting because I couldn't put it down.

The way the story of Rosa progresses is incredibly well done. She manipulates everyone around her to her advantage and it was totally believable. Her conversations with Che, who she is pretty honest with about her peculiarities, were positively chilling. He tries to teach her to have empathy for other people, but all she is doing is trying to appear like a regular person and it's clear she's been honing her acting skills since she realized that she's different from most people. I was so worried for Che and the people he cared about, and wanted to smack his parents for being so disinterested, and so convinced that Rosa is just precocious.

I was very happy that, just like in Liar, Larbalestier included diversity elements, but even more so in this book. Sojourner is black and has two moms, another friend is gender fluid, and another is Korean-American and a lesbian. But none of this is a big deal, or even especially surprising to Che, though he is slightly confused about the gender fluid character. (Not confused in a bad way though, he totally likes Elon, he's just unsure what gender this person is and has to have it explained to him.) I hate to even mention these elements because it shouldn't be a big deal, but I think it's important to give a shoutout to books that normalize non-white-heterosexual-cisgender characters. In this book they are all just people who are well-rounded and have hobbies and interests and just happen to be a minority. There was a great conversation between Che's friend Leilani and her girlfriend about whether or not she is "really" Korean since she was born in America and doesn't look very Korean, and because her Korean dad was adopted by a white American couple. There are so many conversations like this in real life and it's so important to talk about this kind of thing.

In summary, you should read this right now! Just go immediately to a bookstore or library and get it as soon as possible.

Top Ten Books I'm Looking Forward To For The First Half of 2017

Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is books we're looking forward to for the first half of 2017. This usually means news books that are coming out during that time, but I honestly haven't been paying attention because I'm so wrapped up on what I want to read in the near future and the books I've been wanting to read and haven't gotten to. I mostly can't even think about the books that haven't been published yet that I might want to read.

However, I do have things I plan to read in the first half of 2017. I'm participating in the Classic Book a Month Challenge, and I'm also planning to do a TBR Pile Challenge again. There are also some other books I've been wanting to read and I don't see myself getting to them in the next few weeks. So let's see what I'm most interested in reading in the first half of 2017!

1. The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian
This will be published in January and is the only book on this list that hasn't been published yet. I don't even know what it's about and it doesn't matter because I'll read anything that Chris Bohjalian writes.

2. Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I've wanted to read this for years and it was on my TBR Pile Challenge at least once and I didn't get to it, but now it's on the Classic Book a Month Challenge and I'm determined to read it this April.

3. The Painter by Peter Heller
I loved his novel The Dog Stars but have been wary of reading another of his books out of fear that it won't compare. But a coworker read this one and loved it.

4. To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey
Similarly, I loved The Snow Child but hadn't heard much about this one so I wondered if maybe it wasn't as good. Recently though I've a few reports that it is, in fact, excellent.

5. A Little Life by Hanya Yanigahara
Again I've avoided reading something that sounds really good because it is long. I'm going to try and tackle it this winter. Somehow I think I have more time in the winter.

6. Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
This nonfiction book was already a big deal before the election, but now even more people are reading it to try and understand the people who voted for He Who Shall Not Be Named. I've wanted to read it ever since I heard about it but since I have to pace myself with nonfiction I still haven't gotten to it.

7. Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson
Ok, I lied. This comes out in January also. So there's two on my list to be published in 2017. The Kind Worth Killing was so good!

8. The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
A classic that I haven't read, this title keeps popping up recently. I've been reading a lot of articles about race and this sounds like a must-read for understanding racial issues in the U.S.

9. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
This is the May pick for the Classic Book a Month Challenge and is also about race in America. I don't know much about it though of course I've heard of it. I'm very interested to read a play that isn't by Shakespeare.

10. In Your Dreams by Kristan Higgins
There are a number of romance authors I want to read more of - Sarah MacLean, Courtney Milan, Beverly Jenkins - but I'm not sure what I'll read next from each of them. I know the next Kristan Higgins book I want to read though, because it's next in the Blue Heron series that I've been enjoying.

Hopefully I'll use this list to guide me this winter and spring so I don't have to put any of these books on my list for the second half of 2017!

Highly Illogical Behavior

Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley (2016)

Three years ago, Solomon Reed stripped out of his clothes and lay down in a fountain at his school in front of everyone. He hasn't left his house since. Lisa Praytor is determined to get out of her town, and her escape route is getting into the second-best psychology program in the country. To do so, she needs to submit an essay about a personal experience with mental illness. She remembers Solomon, and when she learns he's agoraphobic she decides he'll be her project and she sets out to befriend him, dragging her boyfriend Clark along with her. Lisa is surprised when she meets Solomon and genuinely likes him. He hasn't had a friend since he left school and is a bit suspicious but soon the three become good friends. But hanging over them all is the fact that Lisa befriended him deceitfully for a project because of her own ambitions.

Lisa connects with Solomon through his mother who is a dentist. The first day Lisa has an appointment with her, she goes home and tells Solomon that she met a former classmate of his who was asking about him. This immediately put me off because it's such a breach of privacy - haven't you heard of HIPPA, Solomon's mom? But apparently Lisa said to tell Solomon she said hi, so I guess I'll accept that. Anyhow, I got over it and that was really my only criticism of the book.

I really thought I was going to dislike Lisa because of her initial deceit. She was just using Solomon, but she genuinely liked him and wanted to be his friend once she got to know him a little. I also understand the desperate need to get out of your hometown. And she did actually help him quite a bit, mostly through her supportive friendship, but also through some more professional means. For instance, when he had a panic attack she sat with him and walked him through a breathing exercise that helped him quite a bit. I'm not sure where she picked it up, but it seems a pretty basic strategy (which, come to think of it, begs the question...why didn't Solomon already know to do that?) Lisa and Clark's relationship was troubled and without giving anything away I'll just say that the way it developed was not what I expected.

Solomon was a pretty good character, with a great sense of humor and a deep love of Star Trek: Next Generation. I liked his insights regarding his mental illness. "Most people would rather do nothing than risk doing the wrong thing - that's something Solomon learned a long time before shutting them all out." His family was very supportive, even to the point that his parents no longer made him see a therapist. He convinced them he did better without therapy, and they accepted that, though they continued to worry and hope he would go outside again someday. I especially liked his grandmother, who was a huge gossip.

This was a very short quick read which I read most of in one day, but it was also quite satisfying. It's probably not the sort of book that will stick with me, but I enjoyed it a lot while I was reading it and I'd recommend it to those looking for representations of mental illness in teen books.