2016 Books: The Bad, The Good, and The Awesome!

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Well, it's a good thing that I am a teacher because I am a reading nerd. I have always loved to read, but this year, I just couldn't put books down! I was overwhelmed with audiobooks, chapter books, young adult novels, and everything in between!

My husband makes fun of me for reading so much, but in all honesty, I don't actually spend that much time reading, I just read really fast. I am one of those people who will finish a 400 page book in two days. I surpassed my goal of reading 41 books this year on Goodreads (my goal was 40! Come be my friend on Goodreads! I love to see what others are reading). I was pretty proud of myself.

I hope that you have seen my monthly reading posts. I am thinking of doing some kind of linkup or hashtag so that others can join. Would anyone even participate? Do people even read my blog anymore? Ha. I will link up all of the months of 2016 below if you want to see what I read and all of my thoughts on them.

Being in a Book Club has been so fun as well. This is not your typical gossip book club. It is a group of us who literally spend 3 hours once a month talking about the book the entire time. I'm not lying when I said 7 out of the 10 ladies are teachers. What nerds ;) . Let me know if you want to participate and join! We are, also, looking for a name for our book club. If you have any ideas for good book club names, let me know!

Okay, enough babbling. Here are the The Bad, the Good, and the Awesome Books of 2016.*
*in my opinion. It was hard to only put a few in each category!!

Let's start with the Bad. Get it out of the way.

Bad 

+Major Pettigrew's Last Stand // Helen Simonson: So so so boring. I made it to chapter five and then gave up. It's about an old man in England who falls in love with Mrs. Ali. Major snoozefest.

+Shout Her Lovely Name // Natalie Serber: A story about a mother and daughter and their trials. It was so terrible I could barely finish it. Confusing and not very well written.

+Landline // Rainbow Rowell: I read "Attachments" for book club and I really enjoyed it, so I thought I would try some of Rainbow's other books. This one was so incredibly boring and horribly written. I couldn't even believe I finished it.


Good

+Daring Greatly // Brene Brown: I love Brene Brown so so so so much. I enjoyed this novel a lot, but it definitely wasn't my favorite novel of hers. In this novel she talks about learning to step outside of your insecurities and comfort zone to "dare greatly." Some really great ideas, quotes, and concepts and one I would recommend.

+Intuitive Eating// Evelyn Tribole: This woman talks about her struggles with food and how to be "aware of what you are eating." Very good novel!

+Me Before You // Jojo Moyes: I read this book in one night. It definitely captured my attention. I loved the idea and the movie. The ending definitely had me confused (I don't know what I would do in that situation!). A good book!

+The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up// Marie Kondo: Very interesting take on cleaning up your life. I was fascinated by it and it definitely helped me organize parts of my life. I found that the process took too long, but I loved the idea and concept of it (and it did help me! I just don't have a year to do this! ha).

+Rain, Reign// Ann M. Martin:  Young Adult Novel about a girl with Asperger's from her point of view. I loved the concept of this book and it had me in tears at parts because of her relationship with her dog. A little scattered at parts, but it was my favorite young adult book that I've read this year.


Awesome

+Quiet: Life of an Introvert in an Extraverted World // Susan Cain: This novel talks about what it is like to be an introvert in today's world of extreme extraverts. I don't know if it's just because I am a very extraverted introvert, but I absolutely loved this passage from an introvert's point of view. This is something that I think all people, introverts and extraverts alike need to read (especially if your spouse is the opposite of you!).

+The Nightingale // Kristin Hannah: The life of two women, very opposite sisters who live in France during World War II. Amazing!!!!! I cried like a baby.

+Ready Player One // Ernest Cline: Year 2044, teenage boy in virtual reality trying to deal with puzzles. It is hilarious, intriguing, and incredibly well written.

+Dad is Fat// Jim Gaffigan: Hilarious, hilarious, hilarious!  Autobiography of comedian Jim Gaffigan. I would encourage you to even listen to it on audiobook. I listened to it while reading along at parts. I really enjoyed it.

+Nineteen Minutes// Jodi Picoult: I read this novel about eight years ago, but we read it for book club so I decided to re-read it. I forgot how much I love her books. Even though Jodi Picoult's novels are all of the same, this one is definitely one of my favorites (and I have read a lot of books by her!). I thought this story about a young boy involved in a school shooting is interesting, relatable and it was incredibly well written.


Monthly Book Reviews

*January/February Books (did separate posts in these months)
-These Is My Words- Nancy E. Turner
-Go Set a Watchman-Harper Lee
-Daring Greatly-Brene Brown
-Quiet: Life of an Introvert in an Extraverted World- Susan Cain
*March (started combining all of my books in one post in March! Ha)
*April 
*May
*June 
*July/August
*September
*October
*November/December


What books did you read in 2016? Which ones did you love? Which ones did you hate? I would love your thoughts!