Favorite Books of 2016

The year 2016 has slowly but surely come to an end. Looking back, it’s been quite clear to me that this was a major year for my reading. My tastes changed a lot in what I now decide to pick up and what not. This has also been the year that I started writing down my thoughts and feelings for the books I read, and it has completely changed everything for me. Writing book reviews has been a great pleasure that I hope to continue doing for years and years to come. And I wanted to take a minute to thank everyone that takes the time to like or comment on my reviews. It always means the world to me. Thank you.

Books:

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2016/11/19/review-born-a-crime-by-trevor-noah/

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2016/08/14/review-radio-silence-by-alice-oseman/

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2016/10/16/review-bad-feminist-by-roxane-gay/

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2016/11/12/review-in-the-country-we-love-by-diane-guerrero/

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2016/04/23/review-six-of-crows-by-leigh-bardugo/

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2016/08/22/review-im-supposed-to-protect-you-from-all-this-by-nadja-spiegelman/

https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2016/09/29/review-crooked-kingdom-by-leigh-bardugo/

Note: I’m an Amazon Affiliate. If you want to buy any of the books I mentioned in this post, just click on the images below to go through my link. I’ll make a small commission!

1. I’m Supposed to Protect You from All This by Nadja Spiegelman 
   

“The things my mother did not see about herself, I did not see, either.”

This wondrous read made me discover my love for memoirs this year, which, as you can see by my favorites above, has been all consuming.
I’m Supposed to Protect You from All This is a memoir of mothers and daughters—and mothers as daughters—traced through four generations, from Paris to New York and back again. I highly recommend giving this one a go!

2. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah“She’d tell me not to worry. She always came back to the phrase she lived by: “If God is with me, who can be against me?” She was never scared. Even when she should have been.”

I read this one back in November, and I still bring up some of the stories Trevor Noah wrote in here to my own mother, either to educate or make her laugh (and sometimes both). Born a Crime is a compelling, inspiring, and comically sublime story of one man’s coming-of-age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed.

3. Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
“I am a bad feminist. I would rather be a bad feminist than no feminist at all.”

Bad Feminist made me discover the immense love I have for Roxane Gay. Now, I will read literally anything with her name on it.
In these funny and insightful essays, Roxane Gay takes us through the journey of her evolution as a woman of color while also taking readers on a ride through culture of the last few years and commenting on the state of feminism today. The portrait that emerges is not only one of an incredibly insightful woman continually growing to understand herself and our society, but also one of our culture.!
Gay writes about race, gender, and pop culture with her sharp, funny, and spot-on look that I will forever treasure.

4. In the Country We Love by Diane Guerrero“For the thousands of nameless children who feel as forgotten as I did—this memoir is my gift to you. It’s as much for your healing as it is for my own.”

Similar to Born a Crime, Diane Guerrero’s memoir has stayed with me since my first read. Her honest and emotional take on everything she went through really hit me. Going into this I hadn’t known what to expect, but the minute I closed it, I knew this book was something else. In the Country We Love made me think, even weeks after I read the last page.

5. Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

“Hello. I hope somebody is listening.”

Radio Silence is my favorite contemporary read of the year. It had everything I love thrown into one, what more can I ask for? It covers a wide range of topics, from racial and sexual diversity to great music recommendations, developed friendships and relationships, and so much more. 10/10 would recommend.

6. Six of Crows & Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

“No mourners, no funerals.”

The Six of Crows Duology convinced me that Leigh Bardugo can do no wrong with her writing, characters and world-building. They’re phenomenal. Also, she’s the mastermind behind Kaz Brekker aka my favorite bastard of the Barrel. And since we get to know him and his backstory so well in the first book, my love for Six of Crows is a little more intense.
If you’re looking for a gripping and mind-blowing fantasy duology with the best cast of dangerous outcasts, this is it!

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Those were my favorite reads of the year, thank you for reading! Be sure to let me know what were your favorite books of 2016.