2016 in Review

2016 has been a very good reading year for me - both in quantity and quality. In total, I read 86 books, which exceeds last year's total of 80. I also read quite a number of very good books and discovered several new favourite authors.

 

My total includes 67 fiction, 15 non-fiction and 4 poetry; I'm fairly happy with these proportions. Not surprisingly, my most-read fiction genre this year was classics, with 32 books. However, I am surprised that fantasy/sci-fi came in second, with 14 books; this is clearly something I've been reading a lot more of this year than in previous years. Besides this I read 12 historical novels, 11 contemporary fiction, and 10 mysteries (some books have been counted in multiple genres). Only 3 of my reads were re-reads - I intend to improve upon this next year.

 

In total I read 73 different authors this year - this is my highest title to date, but this is mainly because I read quite a few books which had two or more authors. 47 of these authors were new to me. My most-read authors of the year were Kate Douglas Wiggin and Elinor M. Brent-Dyer, both with 5 books.

 

Some of the best books I read this year were:

 

Fiction

Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers

One Corpse Too Many and Monks-Hood by Ellis Peters

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Escape from Rome and The Archers of Isca by Caroline Lawrence

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows

Outcast by Rosemary Sutcliff

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne

Five Glass Slippers by various authors

 

Non-Fiction

Medieval Wisdom for Modern Christians by Chris Armstrong

Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber

 

Re-Reads

1066 and All That by W.C. Sellar and R.J. Yeatman

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Gatty's Tale by Kevin Crossley-Holland

Book Review: In Wartime: Stories from Ukraine by Tim Judah

Summary:

From one of the finest journalists of our time comes a definitive, boots-on-the-ground dispatch from the front lines of the conflict in Ukraine.
 
Ever since Ukraine’s violent 2014 revolution, followed by Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the country has been at war. Misinformation reigns, more than two million people have been displaced, and Ukrainians fight one another on a second front—the crucial war against corruption.

With In Wartime, Tim Judah lays bare the events that have turned neighbors against one another and mired Europe’s second-largest country in a conflict seemingly without end.

In Lviv, Ukraine’s western cultural capital, mothers tend the graves of sons killed on the other side of the country. On the Maidan, the square where the protests that deposed President Yanukovych began, pamphleteers, recruiters, buskers, and mascots compete for attention. In Donetsk, civilians who cheered Russia’s President Putin find their hopes crushed as they realize they have been trapped in the twilight zone of a frozen conflict.

Judah talks to everyone from politicians to poets, pensioners, and historians. Listening to their clashing explanations, he interweaves their stories to create a sweeping, tragic portrait of a country fighting a war of independence from Russia—twenty-five years after the collapse of the USSR.

I enjoyed reading this book; I found it interesting and informative, and it was well written. It describes recent and current events in Ukraine,  focusing particularly on the experiences and opinions of people caught up in the conflict, although there is also a fair amount of background and historical context given. As I knew very little about Ukraine before starting it, this was very helpful. It probably would help to have known a little more before going in as I found it hard at times to keep track of the people and places mentioned, but this wasn't a great disadvantage.

 

I liked the focus on telling people's stories; it helps to understand where people are coming from and the different viewpoints people have, and how they are affected by various events. The book also includes quite a few photos. There's definitely plenty of food for thought here as well.

 

I'm afraid this isn't a very good review; I don't really know how to review non-fiction. But it was a good book and I would definitely recommend it to people who are interested in knowing more about the topic it covers.

I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

 

I probably won't be posting much, if at all, over the next week or two but hopefully will return in the New Year. Merry Christmas everyone!

Top Ten New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2016

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is Top Ten New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2016. I've read a lot of new authors this year - 43 according to my stats - and discovered quite a few new favourites, who I am looking forward to reading more from in the future. Here are my top ten:

1. Dorothy Sayers (Gaudy Night, Whose Body?)
2. Jules Verne (Journey to the Centre of the Earth)
3. Stephanie Ricker (A Cinder's Tale, The Battle of Castle Nebula, The Star Bell)
4. Jacqueline Harvey (Alice-Miranda at School)
5. Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird)
6. G.K. Chesterton (The Innocence of Father Brown)
7. Susie Day (Pea's Book of Best Friends)
8. Paula Byrne (Belle)
9. Suzannah Rowntree (The Rakshasa's Bride)
10. Henry Van Dyke (The Story of the Other Wise Man)