2016 was a great reading year for me–SO many good reads!

Up until October, when Buddy Fitzwilliam suddenly appeared on the scene and changed my sluggish daily routine, I had been humming along in my reading life. He’s been with us for three months now and while I’m not exactly back into a reading groove, we’re starting to get into something that looks like it might eventually turn into a routine.

Last read of the year with my reading Buddy

For years now my annual reading goal has been to read 52 books. That’s one book a week and doesn’t make me shy away from big books. It also doesn’t make me feel pressured about reading when life gets crazy busy.

Here’s some breakdown:

• 58 books read
• 37 by women
• 20 by men 
• 1 gender neutral
• 3 published in the 19th century
• 16 published in the 20th century
• 39 published in the 21st century
• 20 published in 2016 (super high for me and only 7 were ARCs)
• 4 ebooks (same as last year)
• 3 audiobooks (also same as last year)
• 2 translated into English (one less than last year)
• 11 qualified towards #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks 
• 6 for The Classics Club
• 1 for Australian Women Writers (#AWW2016)

List of books read. Yellow highlights are my Top 10 of 2016

Author	Title
Atwood, Kathyrn	Women Heroes of WWII: The Pacific Theater
Austen, Jane	Pride and Prejudice
BarkPost	Dogs and Their People
Caspary, Vera	Laura
Chbosky, Stephen	Perks of Being a Wall Flower, The
Chopin, Kate	Awakening, The
Christie, Agatha	And Then There Were None
Clark, Marcia	Blood Defense
Cornwell, Patricia	Chasing the Ripper
Doemer, Cornelia	Martin Luther’s Travel Guide
Du Maurier, Daphne	Rebecca
Ehrlich, Amy	Willa: The Story of Willa Cather, an American Writer
Eustice, Helen	Horizontal Man, The
Fleming, Jacky	Trouble with Women, The
Gilbert, Elizabeth	Big Magic
Gilman, George G.	Blind Side, The
Gorman, Jane	Blind Eye, The
Gyasi, Yaa	Homegoing
Hammett, Dashiell	Thin Man, The
Hawkins, Paula	Girl on the Train, The
Heller, Joseph	Catch-22 (DNF)
Hemingway, Ernest	Moveable Feast, A
Highsmith, Patricia	Price of Salt, The
Irving, John	Prayer for Owen Meany, A
Jackson, Shirley	Haunting of Hill House, The (reread)
Kiernan, Stephen P	Hummingbird, The
King, Stephen	Mr. Mercedes *
King, Stephen	Finders Keepers *
King, Stephen	End of Watch *
Kovic, Ron	Hurricane Street
Lagercrantz, David	Girl in the Spider’s Web, The
Lamb, Wally	She’s Come Undone
Longo, Stacey (ed)	Tricks and Treats: A Collection of Spooky Stories by Connecticut Authors
Maran, Meredith	Why We Write About Ourselves
McNamara, Frances	Death at the Paris Exposition
Oakley, Barbara	Mind for Numbers, A
Olson, Karen E.	Sacred Cows
Patchette, Anne	Bel Canto
Penny, Louise	Great Reckoning, A
Pinckney, Darryl	Black Deutschland
Raabe, Melanie	Trap, The
Rhys, Jean	Good Morning, Midnight
Rhys, Jean	Wide Sargasso Sea, The
Scottoline, Lisa	Final Appeal
Seay, Martin	Mirror Thief, The
Shoemaker, Karen Gettert	Meaning of Names, The
Speart, Jessica	Winged Obsession
Stein, Triss	Brooklyn Secrets
Strecker, Susan	Nowhere Girl
Thorson, Robert M.	Stone by Stone: The Magnificent History in New England’s Stone Walls**
Tremblay, Paul	Disappearance at Devil’s Rock
Twain, Mark	Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, A
Viskic, Emma	Resurrection Bay
Whitehead, Colson	Underground Railroad, The
Wilson, Anne A.	Hover
Woodham, Jane	Twister
Yun, Jung	Shelter
Zacks, Richard	Chasing the Last Laugh

 * When Emily and I listed our Top 10 reads of 2016 on episode two of the Book Cougars, I cheated and listed Stephen King’s Bill Hodges Trilogy as one book.

** Currently reading and will finish today or tomorrow. Usually I’m anal and work it so that I finish whatever I’m reading on the last day of the year and then start a new read on the first day of the year, but apparently I’m living on the edge these days. Oh, and there are two books not on the list above that I’ve already started but didn’t list since I’m not near the half way point on either: Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin (audio and hardcover) and Chicago Whispers: A History of LGBT Chicago Before Stonewall by St. Sukie de la Croix (on my ereader).

I’m looking forward to more great reading in 2017 and my next post will be about my reading plans for the new year. The older I get, the less time I spend with books that don’t engage me, so my overall enjoyment of reading seems to be increasing with each passing year.

Here’s to health, happiness, world peace, and good reads in 2017!