My Favorite Reads of 2016: A Year of Diversity and Thrilling Stories

As I reflect on my reading experience in 2016, I am reminded of the numerous amazing books that I had the pleasure of devouring. This year was particularly special for me, as it marked a significant milestone in my reading journey - discovering diversity in literature. I realized that I had been reading too narrowly, focusing mainly on fantasy novels, and neglecting other genres like psychological thrillers and young adult fiction. However, 2016 was the year when I made a conscious effort to read more diverse books, and it was incredibly rewarding.

One of my favorite reads of 2016 is "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo. This novel was an epic fantasy adventure that followed the story of six unlikely heroes who came together to pull off an unbelievable heist. What I loved about this book was its unique cast of characters, each with their own distinct personality and background. The author's world-building was exceptional, and I found myself completely immersed in the world of Ketterdam. This novel was a game-changer for me, as it opened up new possibilities for my reading preferences. I highly recommend "Six of Crows" to anyone who enjoys fantasy, adventure, or just great storytelling.

Another book that stood out to me was "Nice Dragons Finish Last" by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. This novel was a beautifully written tale about two Mexican-American teenagers who fall in love despite the odds against them. I appreciated how this book explored themes of identity, culture, and relationships with sensitivity and nuance. The author's writing style was engaging, and I loved how the story unfolded at its own pace. If you're looking for a heartwarming and thought-provoking read, "Nice Dragons Finish Last" is an excellent choice.

My third favorite read of 2016 was "All the Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven. This novel was a powerful exploration of grief, mental health, and the complexities of human relationships. The author's writing was evocative and emotional, and I found myself completely invested in the story of Theodore Finch and Violet Markey. This book was a significant milestone for me as a reader, as it marked my first introduction to the psychological thriller genre. Nathanial Paul, a journalist, becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth about a cult filmmaker named Cordova, whose daughter Ashley is found dead under mysterious circumstances. As Scott delves deeper into the mystery, he discovers that there's more to Cordova's life than meets the eye.

I was completely captivated by "All the Bright Places", and I think it's an excellent example of how fiction can tackle complex issues with sensitivity and nuance. If you're a fan of psychological thrillers or just looking for a thought-provoking read, this book is definitely worth checking out. The author's use of mixed media, including web pages and newspaper articles, added to the novel's unique reading experience.

Last but not least, I have to mention "Lady Midnight" by Cassandra Clare. This novel was the first installment in the Dark Artifex series, and it exceeded my expectations in every way. Clare's writing is always engaging, and this book was no exception. The story follows Tessa Gray as she navigates a world of magic and mystery, all while trying to uncover the truth about her past. I loved how this novel expanded on the Shadowhunter Chronicles universe, introducing new characters and plotlines that added depth to the series.

What I appreciated most about "Lady Midnight" was its complexity and nuance. The author's world-building is always exceptional, and this book was no exception. The characters were well-developed and relatable, and I found myself completely invested in their stories. If you're a fan of fantasy or just looking for a great read, "Lady Midnight" is an excellent choice.

In conclusion, 2016 was a remarkable year for me as a reader. I discovered new genres, authors, and books that expanded my reading horizons. From epic fantasies to psychological thrillers, these novels taught me the importance of diversity in literature and how it can enrich our reading experiences. If you're looking for great reads, I highly recommend checking out "Six of Crows", "Nice Dragons Finish Last", "All the Bright Places", and "Lady Midnight".

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey with the pillow my name is on that and today I'm going to be talking about my favorite books of 2016 this was just comprised of nine of my favorite reads of 2016 I was originally going to do like 10 or 16 but I thought yeah I'm just putting on books just to like get that even number so these are some of my 9 beaver books of the year number 9 list is the winners crucial Agyei by Marie Rutkoski I marathon the crap out of these books when I first picked them up I really really loved this series I'm so happy after staring at this beautiful cover for two years more than doable I finally had the motivation to greatest capsule is just a badass female main character and airing complements her so nicely I just telling everything about this book was so deep compared to a lot of vya I read so that's why I really stood out to me I said this before but this local Artemis book is also like miles ahead of a lot of why a novel I just feel like there's so much in this book that is so complex and enjoyable and I have the best time just reading the crap out of these babies because I just one after the other to the other I marathon them so hard and I'm so happy I finally gave in a can number 8 on my list of the year books of 2016 is gone girl by Gillian Flynn this is actually one of my more recent reads and I'm so happy I finally click this one off as well 2015 was the year I kind of experimented more with adult books which is something I was terrified of in 2015 and I really found myself enjoying psychological thrillers so of course I had to pick up gone girl this book was just like in total mind fuck for me it was just so insane the way the story is told I have realized that I love unreliable narrators this book was so intoxicating because like every five minutes I was changing my mind as to what I believe to be true and it was just such a cool reading experience for me it's something I totally want to dabble with more in the future god girl is 100% worth all of the hype like I used to be a little skeptical of it because it was one of those books that like people who aren't readers were enjoying and I was like how good can this really be so yeah gone girl was unreal it really opened my mind up to more psychological thrillers and I feel like because I've been open about enjoying Delaine Thorne's work there are so many other books that I feel are more accessible to me because I'm just like I'm growing as a reader in gone girl a degree in working of that number some of my list of favorite books of 2016 and the first two books in the Accord London runs a series of course rooms roses and accordionist and fury by Sarah gmask I just love akkad art so much the world itself is beautifully written it is super complex and there are so many different levels to it you hear in general very very interesting because there is so much character development just in the span of these two books and it's going to be a long-ass series so like I just can't wait to see where things go from here after math broke me like 100 percent broke me that ending was just so unreal and I just died for the third book I feel like his hair was another milestone for me because it was the first time I really loved a series like absolutely loved it but I saw problems that I needed to challenge and I need you to criticize and that's not something I was ever used to I used to be the type of person just read a book because it was entertaining but a guitar was different for me and I feel like knowing that I can really love these books that I can also talk about the problematic aspects and like I won't be telling about it it just it makes me feel nice to know that like I'm capable of that and so it's been an interesting reading experience and I am 100% continuing with the series obviously because these are some of my favorite books would be here but absolutely happy new books came into my life I'm even making my mom read ask them a pright now and she's loving it and it's just it's wonderful these are great you should totally read them I love number six on my list of speaker books of 2016 is made you up by Francesca's Appiah and this is not a book so I feel like I recommend constantly on my channel is about this girl named Alex who suffering from early onset schizophrenia i heavily relate to this book because when i was 16 i was suffering from a form of psychosis that is really similar to get the friend of form and Alex suffers from visual hallucinations which is what I was suffering from it was really wonderful to read a book about a normal person who was suffering from visual hallucinations because I was a normal person suffering from visual hallucinations it's not something that talks about in the media even when schizophrenia comes up there's like a stereotypical schizophrenic person that is always displayed and this shows something that I could really identify with this book is really important to me I think it's a beautiful story that really does to be told and there are just so many important aspects of it that I think everyone should read and I'm so happy I decided to take it up this year because they were my hard to talk about because I love this book with like every fiber of my being number five on my list of favorite books of 2016 is a list of pages by Robin Roe are you guys sick of hearing you can specify yet I love this book so much I have a full for liquor review like super super long for this review on my channel so if you'd like to check it out that is in the description below this book follows two boys named Adam and Julian who used to be foster brothers but they have such fibers apart after Julian was taken away to live with his uncle I explained this analysis a million times and if you want to find out more info all of you books I talked about will be in the description of this video but essentially Adam and Julian end up at the same high school and Julian is a freshman and Adam is a senior and they start to rekindle this relationship that they had all those years ago this is not a primarily romance book this book is really heavily focused on friendship and kindness which are not things that I normally see like every other why a book in the world is romance and so it was really very refreshing to see a book that was more focused on brothership and family and friendships it also deals a lot of heavy topics it deals with ADHD which Adam suffers from it deals with child abuse and trauma and growth and there were just there were so many amazing aspects of this book that had me crying the entire time while reading it and I would really really recommend it to you guys I love this book with all of my heart it has made its way up to one of my favorites and the limits of all time and I'm just so happy I was given the opportunity to read it never for my list of favorite reads of 2016 is history so you asked me by Adam Silveira which comes out on January 17th another book this is broke name the Moline waste and I loved every second of it history while Fe is another extremely important book it Falls avoiding Griffin who is recently lost a lot of his life needs Pheo this book is told in the past and the present the past is focused on learning about Griffin and Theo's history the whole relationship and how it ended in you know it kind of meets up in the middle with the present but you present have focused on how it feels newer boyfriend named Jackson comes to the funeral and Jackson and Griffin kind of engage and it's unlikely relationship like romantic relation in a Sara Lee but like a friendship a camaraderie and acquaintance ships they haven't seen going on where basically they are helping each other agreed because they're the only two people that really understand what they're going through after we're both being in love with the same person it's a queer on voices novel Griffin suffers from OCD which was like an eight plus portrayal it also of course deals with great and lost love but it also is really really focused on self discovery and finding yourself and there were just so many important aspects of this book that I just I loved it is one of my favorite books again it has just climbed up to the top of my favorite books of like all-time I'm actually lucky enough to host the event for history at Books of Wonder on January 16th history is so fabulous I know it is going to be one of the best book releases of 2017 and I which is highly highly recommend you guys pick it up number three on my list of favorite books of 2016 is the six of crows urology by Leigh bardugo I read both of these this year and I just loved them so much these are two really diverse books and at the time of me picking up sick secrets of the first time I was not reading diversely so it's like it's another milestone for me and reading a lot of minor of books have like significant meaning to me rather than just being fantastic books there's diverse cultures every sexualities or it's disabled graphics and own voices novel there's so many good things about six of crows that you should read for it is also such an epic vanity novel I mean it's about these six unlikely drags who come together to pull off this unbelievable heist and it is so epic all the characters are so individual and it's so nice to have a cast of six completely different unique characters that we get to know equally so well six the college is just its life guide it's so amazing I would recommend this to absolutely anyone who likes fantasy I know that this is a book or even just cookie kingdoms is on like everyone's lips a favorites of 2016 as it should be because these books are so so good and I'm so happy I even in the chance number two on the list of favorites of 2016 is nice film by Marisha puffle this will be recommended to me and actually sent to me right there from there without an age so she does also have video on why you should read nice unlike all reasons why this book is for you so I will wake that below because I think everyone should another book that was a big stepping stone and I reading - this was the first adult psychological thriller that I ever at and it really opened me up to the usual genre and I'm so thankful for that Nathan Paul is a journalist named Scott McGrath who for years has been obsessed with this cult filmmaker named Cordova and he action lost his career as a result of his obsession was word a few years Denali is Cordova's daughter Ashley is found dead and believed to have committed suicide but Scott finds out about this and he doesn't believe that she actually commits suicide he believed that something more is going on - Scott was on this journey she kind of exposed Cordova and kind of proved that there are things going on in his life that are hidden from the public that need to be exposed and it was just so unbelievably crazy this book was a wild ride it also is mixed media so there are some like webpages and newspaper articles implanted into the book which makes for a really unique reading experience figure somebody who loves things too central creepy thrilling I would highly recommend at night film it was just it was such a marking point in my rating and it really really changed me as a reader like I have such different standards for the books that I want to read the books that I have read just because of this book and it really really went to watch me and I'm so so happy I read it like I don't know how many books I can say I'm like truly truly grateful I've read because they changed me so much and night film is definitely one of them and of course my absolute favorite of 2016 is the one you guys probably specifically do being like oh my god Emma where is this book and of course it is Lady midnight by Cassandra Clare this is the first book any dark art into series and it was there was everything I could have wanted it more I have read all of Cassandra Clare's books I am reading the world learns from series for the eighth time guys and I truly believe lady midnight is her best work yet it is just so wonderful to see your favorite authors grow every single time Cassandra Clare publishes a new book I see if we're writing improve I see the way that you like right spots and twists and characters just get so much stronger and that's such a wonderful experience for me as a dedicated reader this book in masses as it should be there's so much content in here in the shadow world expands to like beyond all of our while strains I'm just so impressed by it I think this is really going to be an extremely strong series because it has such a strong foundation I loved it I don't care what anyone else says this book was phenomenal it was so well written so complex too deep there are so many ways the story can go and I really cannot wait to see how everything comes together in the end so those are all of my parent reads of 2016 I read over 75 books in the year of 2016 and that is a lot and lauda narrow them down to only nine of my favorites there are so many books that I read this year that I love I would love to know in the comments what some of your favorite reads of 2016 were if you read any of the same books that I just talked to in this video and what your sauce on them were and here's to hoping that 2017 is just as good of a reading year but that was it for this video thank you guys so much for watching I'll see you soon for a new one byehey with the pillow my name is on that and today I'm going to be talking about my favorite books of 2016 this was just comprised of nine of my favorite reads of 2016 I was originally going to do like 10 or 16 but I thought yeah I'm just putting on books just to like get that even number so these are some of my 9 beaver books of the year number 9 list is the winners crucial Agyei by Marie Rutkoski I marathon the crap out of these books when I first picked them up I really really loved this series I'm so happy after staring at this beautiful cover for two years more than doable I finally had the motivation to greatest capsule is just a badass female main character and airing complements her so nicely I just telling everything about this book was so deep compared to a lot of vya I read so that's why I really stood out to me I said this before but this local Artemis book is also like miles ahead of a lot of why a novel I just feel like there's so much in this book that is so complex and enjoyable and I have the best time just reading the crap out of these babies because I just one after the other to the other I marathon them so hard and I'm so happy I finally gave in a can number 8 on my list of the year books of 2016 is gone girl by Gillian Flynn this is actually one of my more recent reads and I'm so happy I finally click this one off as well 2015 was the year I kind of experimented more with adult books which is something I was terrified of in 2015 and I really found myself enjoying psychological thrillers so of course I had to pick up gone girl this book was just like in total mind fuck for me it was just so insane the way the story is told I have realized that I love unreliable narrators this book was so intoxicating because like every five minutes I was changing my mind as to what I believe to be true and it was just such a cool reading experience for me it's something I totally want to dabble with more in the future god girl is 100% worth all of the hype like I used to be a little skeptical of it because it was one of those books that like people who aren't readers were enjoying and I was like how good can this really be so yeah gone girl was unreal it really opened my mind up to more psychological thrillers and I feel like because I've been open about enjoying Delaine Thorne's work there are so many other books that I feel are more accessible to me because I'm just like I'm growing as a reader in gone girl a degree in working of that number some of my list of favorite books of 2016 and the first two books in the Accord London runs a series of course rooms roses and accordionist and fury by Sarah gmask I just love akkad art so much the world itself is beautifully written it is super complex and there are so many different levels to it you hear in general very very interesting because there is so much character development just in the span of these two books and it's going to be a long-ass series so like I just can't wait to see where things go from here after math broke me like 100 percent broke me that ending was just so unreal and I just died for the third book I feel like his hair was another milestone for me because it was the first time I really loved a series like absolutely loved it but I saw problems that I needed to challenge and I need you to criticize and that's not something I was ever used to I used to be the type of person just read a book because it was entertaining but a guitar was different for me and I feel like knowing that I can really love these books that I can also talk about the problematic aspects and like I won't be telling about it it just it makes me feel nice to know that like I'm capable of that and so it's been an interesting reading experience and I am 100% continuing with the series obviously because these are some of my favorite books would be here but absolutely happy new books came into my life I'm even making my mom read ask them a pright now and she's loving it and it's just it's wonderful these are great you should totally read them I love number six on my list of speaker books of 2016 is made you up by Francesca's Appiah and this is not a book so I feel like I recommend constantly on my channel is about this girl named Alex who suffering from early onset schizophrenia i heavily relate to this book because when i was 16 i was suffering from a form of psychosis that is really similar to get the friend of form and Alex suffers from visual hallucinations which is what I was suffering from it was really wonderful to read a book about a normal person who was suffering from visual hallucinations because I was a normal person suffering from visual hallucinations it's not something that talks about in the media even when schizophrenia comes up there's like a stereotypical schizophrenic person that is always displayed and this shows something that I could really identify with this book is really important to me I think it's a beautiful story that really does to be told and there are just so many important aspects of it that I think everyone should read and I'm so happy I decided to take it up this year because they were my hard to talk about because I love this book with like every fiber of my being number five on my list of favorite books of 2016 is a list of pages by Robin Roe are you guys sick of hearing you can specify yet I love this book so much I have a full for liquor review like super super long for this review on my channel so if you'd like to check it out that is in the description below this book follows two boys named Adam and Julian who used to be foster brothers but they have such fibers apart after Julian was taken away to live with his uncle I explained this analysis a million times and if you want to find out more info all of you books I talked about will be in the description of this video but essentially Adam and Julian end up at the same high school and Julian is a freshman and Adam is a senior and they start to rekindle this relationship that they had all those years ago this is not a primarily romance book this book is really heavily focused on friendship and kindness which are not things that I normally see like every other why a book in the world is romance and so it was really very refreshing to see a book that was more focused on brothership and family and friendships it also deals a lot of heavy topics it deals with ADHD which Adam suffers from it deals with child abuse and trauma and growth and there were just there were so many amazing aspects of this book that had me crying the entire time while reading it and I would really really recommend it to you guys I love this book with all of my heart it has made its way up to one of my favorites and the limits of all time and I'm just so happy I was given the opportunity to read it never for my list of favorite reads of 2016 is history so you asked me by Adam Silveira which comes out on January 17th another book this is broke name the Moline waste and I loved every second of it history while Fe is another extremely important book it Falls avoiding Griffin who is recently lost a lot of his life needs Pheo this book is told in the past and the present the past is focused on learning about Griffin and Theo's history the whole relationship and how it ended in you know it kind of meets up in the middle with the present but you present have focused on how it feels newer boyfriend named Jackson comes to the funeral and Jackson and Griffin kind of engage and it's unlikely relationship like romantic relation in a Sara Lee but like a friendship a camaraderie and acquaintance ships they haven't seen going on where basically they are helping each other agreed because they're the only two people that really understand what they're going through after we're both being in love with the same person it's a queer on voices novel Griffin suffers from OCD which was like an eight plus portrayal it also of course deals with great and lost love but it also is really really focused on self discovery and finding yourself and there were just so many important aspects of this book that I just I loved it is one of my favorite books again it has just climbed up to the top of my favorite books of like all-time I'm actually lucky enough to host the event for history at Books of Wonder on January 16th history is so fabulous I know it is going to be one of the best book releases of 2017 and I which is highly highly recommend you guys pick it up number three on my list of favorite books of 2016 is the six of crows urology by Leigh bardugo I read both of these this year and I just loved them so much these are two really diverse books and at the time of me picking up sick secrets of the first time I was not reading diversely so it's like it's another milestone for me and reading a lot of minor of books have like significant meaning to me rather than just being fantastic books there's diverse cultures every sexualities or it's disabled graphics and own voices novel there's so many good things about six of crows that you should read for it is also such an epic vanity novel I mean it's about these six unlikely drags who come together to pull off this unbelievable heist and it is so epic all the characters are so individual and it's so nice to have a cast of six completely different unique characters that we get to know equally so well six the college is just its life guide it's so amazing I would recommend this to absolutely anyone who likes fantasy I know that this is a book or even just cookie kingdoms is on like everyone's lips a favorites of 2016 as it should be because these books are so so good and I'm so happy I even in the chance number two on the list of favorites of 2016 is nice film by Marisha puffle this will be recommended to me and actually sent to me right there from there without an age so she does also have video on why you should read nice unlike all reasons why this book is for you so I will wake that below because I think everyone should another book that was a big stepping stone and I reading - this was the first adult psychological thriller that I ever at and it really opened me up to the usual genre and I'm so thankful for that Nathan Paul is a journalist named Scott McGrath who for years has been obsessed with this cult filmmaker named Cordova and he action lost his career as a result of his obsession was word a few years Denali is Cordova's daughter Ashley is found dead and believed to have committed suicide but Scott finds out about this and he doesn't believe that she actually commits suicide he believed that something more is going on - Scott was on this journey she kind of exposed Cordova and kind of proved that there are things going on in his life that are hidden from the public that need to be exposed and it was just so unbelievably crazy this book was a wild ride it also is mixed media so there are some like webpages and newspaper articles implanted into the book which makes for a really unique reading experience figure somebody who loves things too central creepy thrilling I would highly recommend at night film it was just it was such a marking point in my rating and it really really changed me as a reader like I have such different standards for the books that I want to read the books that I have read just because of this book and it really really went to watch me and I'm so so happy I read it like I don't know how many books I can say I'm like truly truly grateful I've read because they changed me so much and night film is definitely one of them and of course my absolute favorite of 2016 is the one you guys probably specifically do being like oh my god Emma where is this book and of course it is Lady midnight by Cassandra Clare this is the first book any dark art into series and it was there was everything I could have wanted it more I have read all of Cassandra Clare's books I am reading the world learns from series for the eighth time guys and I truly believe lady midnight is her best work yet it is just so wonderful to see your favorite authors grow every single time Cassandra Clare publishes a new book I see if we're writing improve I see the way that you like right spots and twists and characters just get so much stronger and that's such a wonderful experience for me as a dedicated reader this book in masses as it should be there's so much content in here in the shadow world expands to like beyond all of our while strains I'm just so impressed by it I think this is really going to be an extremely strong series because it has such a strong foundation I loved it I don't care what anyone else says this book was phenomenal it was so well written so complex too deep there are so many ways the story can go and I really cannot wait to see how everything comes together in the end so those are all of my parent reads of 2016 I read over 75 books in the year of 2016 and that is a lot and lauda narrow them down to only nine of my favorites there are so many books that I read this year that I love I would love to know in the comments what some of your favorite reads of 2016 were if you read any of the same books that I just talked to in this video and what your sauce on them were and here's to hoping that 2017 is just as good of a reading year but that was it for this video thank you guys so much for watching I'll see you soon for a new one bye\n"