It was a struggle to get in a mere 35 books this year, mostly in a peri-election slump. I actually did a good job reviewing and adding books this year, keeping pace through August (usually I only keep pace through March or so) and actually reviewing them. And I read at a good clip, up until October, when I read barely anything. Nonetheless, books of the year:

Best Book of the Year/Best Non-Fiction
[b:The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code|16240783|The Riddle of the Labyrinth The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code|Margalit Fox|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387149271s/16240783.jpg|24585584] (Margalit Fox) -- Like all good amateur cryptographers, I know the story of Linear B backwards and forwards, but Fox tells it with such beauty and power that it was like I was hearing it for the first time. The idea of being able to figure out what ancient people were writing about with no parallel language source (such as the Rosetta Stone) borders on magical. Fox's tale of the linguists who did add a nice & feminist touch to the story as well.

Best Fiction
Tie:
[b:The Trespasser|29430013|The Trespasser (Dublin Murder Squad, #6)|Tana French|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462998307s/29430013.jpg|48321130] (Tana French) -- At some point in time, I became obsessed with Tana French, and honestly, her work has just kept getting better. The Trespasser changed my worldview with its deep exploration of imposter syndrome and negative self-narratives. It deserves a place next to French's other Greats, like the Likeness and the Secret Place.

[b:The Martian|18007564|The Martian|Andy Weir|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1413706054s/18007564.jpg|21825181] (Andy Weir) -- who thought a book about a solitary potato farmer could be quite so charming? I loved the ingenuity of the book. I also really liked the team of humans v. environment conflict as a nice reprieve from interpersonal conflict.

Also goods!
[b:The Goblin Emperor|17910048|The Goblin Emperor|Katherine Addison|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1373039517s/17910048.jpg|24241248]
[b:The Girl with All the Gifts|17235026|The Girl with All the Gifts|M.R. Carey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403033579s/17235026.jpg|23753235]
[b:T. Rex and the Crater of Doom|83971|T. Rex and the Crater of Doom|Walter Alvarez|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403031387s/83971.jpg|81068]
[b:Jackalope Wives|20527580|Jackalope Wives|Ursula Vernon|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389652524s/20527580.jpg|37333063]
[b:100 Sideways Miles|20493997|100 Sideways Miles|Andrew Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1390410069s/20493997.jpg|16818609]

Worst Book of the Year
[b:A Guide for the Perplexed|17573649|A Guide for the Perplexed|Dara Horn|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1395613421s/17573649.jpg|24513718] -- Yup, a book I got for free was the worst book of the year. And it's not for lack of competition, either, this book was just pure awful. It's basically pandering to the audience who reads Books For Jews! Look, it's about Jews! The main character's name is Ashkenazi, so you know she's Jewish. Read it if you're Jewish (only don't, because it's a really boring retelling of the Joseph/Judah story, with Josephine and Judith standing in for Joseph and Judah.)

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Man, I special ordered/bought new/borrowed new a ton of books this year, anticipating new works from much loved authors. This doesn't usually work out well in my life, I'm finding (Tana French being a notable exception.)

I read very little nonfiction this year, starting strong, but then trailing off. I partially read at least three nonfiction books that I subsequently misplaced. I think I'm just a slower nonfiction reader and the barrier for me finishing books is remembering where I put them. Maybe I should work on that.

I seem to be reading a lot more genre fiction again, after a long period of lit fic. I think I'm over the beautiful prose/speaks to the human condition/while nothing happens for a bit. Genre fiction, I missed you. Friends, I've been out of touch -- what's good?

Most Anticipated Books Planned for 2017
[b:The Lie Tree|23592175|The Lie Tree|Frances Hardinge|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1423240440s/23592175.jpg|43194799] -- I have heard so many good things about this gothic/feminist/fantasy/science-y/mystery novel that it's hard to believe it's all contained in one book.

[b:Talking Hands: What Sign Language Reveals about the Mind|1371694|Talking Hands What Sign Language Reveals about the Mind|Margalit Fox|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387743380s/1371694.jpg|1361555] -- Perhaps I have already forgotten 2016's lesson to not be overeager for additional books by loved authors, but I need to read everything Margalit Fox has ever written and this book about a sign language that evolves in a Bedouin community with endemic deafness sounds amazing. ( )

This year for the first time I kept track of the books I read. I wanted not simply to read more books, but also to read better books. I signed up for the Goodreads 2016 challenge, pledging a goal of a book a week, with a side goal of 12 nonfiction and 6 classics that I had missed. (I have a shelf called 2016 if you want to see what they were.)

Today I report my results. I surpassed all goals, with a total of 78 books (over goal by 50%), 14 of them nonfiction and 11 of them classics. I haven't decided yet if I'll do something like this next year. I will read of course! I mean set goals and keep track. ( )

امسال سال خوبی بود... اونقدر به تعدد کتاب‌هایی که خوندم اهمیت نمی‌دم بلکه بیشتر به اینکه چی خوندم اهمیت می‌دم و به نظرم امسال از این نظر سال پرباری داشتم... کتاب‌هایی خوندم که مدت‌ها بود می‌خواستم بخونمشون و یا دوست داشتم درباره موضوعاتشون مطالعه داشته باشم... و این به کنار که اولین کتابی که 2017 تموم می‌کنم یه کتاب حجیمه که با دقت سعی کردم بخونم و 90 درصدش رو 2016 خوندم... از خودم راضی‌م و حس می‌کنم کتاب‌هایی که خوندم کیفیت لازم رو تو عملکرد من داشته ( )

FAVOURITES:
[bc:The Silvered|13515074|The Silvered|Tanya Huff|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347511844s/13515074.jpg|19071091] [bc:The Brothers Karamazov|4934|The Brothers Karamazov|Fyodor Dostoyevsky|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1427728126s/4934.jpg|3393910]

DISAPPOINTMENTS:
[bc:The Princess Bride|21787|The Princess Bride |William Goldman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327903636s/21787.jpg|992628] [bc:The Wicked Will Rise|18602341|The Wicked Will Rise (Dorothy Must Die, #2)|Danielle Paige|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1423841142s/18602341.jpg|26373227]

SERIES FINISHED: 2
BOOKS REREAD: 0
2016 RELEASES READ: 1
MOST READ AUTHOR: Marissa Meyer (4 books)

GOODREADS SUMMARY: https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2016/3937220

How can it be possible to summarize an entire year in books? I have no idea how such a thing can be successfully done, so I am just going to stick to spontaneously collecting my own thoughts regarding this year (which is not even over yet - and still I am going to write this review now because I doubt that too much will change during the upcoming weeks, except that I may lose my motivation to write this).

2016 has been a pretty good year for me on many personal levels, but also in reference to books. Just a year ago, if anyone had asked me what I think about specific genres, I would have been at a loss of words to explain my reading interests. This year I explored the value of nonfiction books, discovered some new favorite authors (Tana French, Richard Russo and Oscar Wilde come to mind) and a lot of favorite books (in case you are interested to hear which books I am talking about, you'll find a list at the end of this review rambling).

As of today, nineteen days before the end of the year, I have read a total number of 115 books (and quite a number of short stories). If you look at my shelves, you may notice that almost all of these books have been read before the end of August and that since then there are huge gaps in my reading statistics. The explanation is just as simple: I have been reading too much. Following my attempt to catch up with all the books I thought I had missed to read in previous years proved to be the wrong idea; resulting in many weeks during which I hardly read anything at all. What I learned by this and can only recommend to others: You should never read just for the sake of reading as much as possible. Instead, in most cases you should read for the sake of enjoying what you're reading or learning something from these books.

When I wrote my review for [b:2015 on Goodreads|28181315|2015 on Goodreads|Various|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1450002849l/28181315._SX50_.jpg|48201541] about a year ago, my plans were to read more of George Orwell (I didn't), Edgar Allan Poe (I didn't) and Arthur Conan Doyle (surprise: I didn't), but also more of Stephen King (I ended up reading too much by him) and more classics (which I actually think worked out). My plans also included finishing the Harry Potter books (only the last book still stands between me and reaching this goal), reading Lord of the Rings (I didn't), finishing the Chronicles of Narnia (I didn't) and buying less books (instead I bought more). The lesson taught by this: I shouldn't attempt to plan my reading years anymore. And yet this didn't keep me from creating a list of books I intend to read next year, even though there are still about twenty unread books sitting on my shelf of books I want(ed) to read this year. My intention for next year is to focus my attention on some classics I started to read, actually really liked and yet ended up abandoning at some point of this year's August (Pride & Prejudice, The Secret Garden, East of Eden).

But that was enough about my personal year in books. Goodreads would be nothing without its users, and they are who I want to thank today because I met so many great friends on here. Thank you to everyone for being here and for making Goodreads a little bit richer with your presence.


And I almost forgot that I wanted to point out some of my favorite books of this year. If you are still interested, you may want to check out the following novels (links lead to my reviews):

1. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: We Should All Be Feminists: This is not even a recommendation, this is a must-read. Adichie's take on the subject of feminism should be widely regarded as something to live according to, or at least as a viewpoint which receives more appreciation from society.
2. Jeff Zentner: The Serpent King: Zentner's debut novel was easily one of the best surprises of the year for me personally, delivering a heartbreaking (and tremendously underrated) coming-of-age tale.
3. John Williams: Butcher's Crossing: After reading and loving Williams' [b:Stoner|166997|Stoner|John Williams|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320600716l/166997._SY75_.jpg|1559207] in 2015 already, his second novel proved to be an equally excellent masterpiece. Just like "The Serpent King", this book deserves way more attention from readers all over the world, with its timeless story telling, emotionally touching themes and interesting characters.
4. Leo Tolstoy: The Death of Ivan Ilych: One of my first adventures inside the genre of Russian classic literature, Tolstoy's famous short story was capable of touching me on a very personal level, something I wouldn't have expected from a Russian classic. If you are like me and also try to shy away from the big Russian classics like Anna Karenina, War and Peace or Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, then maybe this short story would be perfect for you as well.
5. Paul Kalanithi: When Breath Becomes Air: One of 2016's most celebrated autobiographical novels, Kalanithi's memoir was capable of providing a lot of food for thought and a new viewpoint on the horrible subject of cancer. Everyone of you should read this one.
6. S.E. Hinton: The Outsiders: Hinton's classic novel, written at the age of 16, is as amazing as it is short. There is no need to lose any words about this one: you should read it.

I chose not to point out some other amazing books which basically everybody already knows about, for example Jane Eyre, Harry Potter, The Green Mile, Frankenstein, The Picture of Dorian Gray or Hamlet. But one book shouldn't be forgotten: [b:Empire Falls|187020|Empire Falls|Richard Russo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403184884l/187020._SY75_.jpg|826474] by Richard Russo. I'm taking months to read this (don't ask, it's a weird combination of not wanting to finish it too soon and wanting to rush through it at the same time, resulting in me not even picking it up for weeks), but I can't recommend it highly enough.

And for everyone interested in my reading statistics according to the Goodreads feature:


So, to sum things up, I read about 10,000 pages more than I did last year, with my average rating remaining exactly the same. Today I also managed to surpass my goal which I set for my reading challenge (170 books) by finishing [b:The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom|6596|The Four Agreements A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom|Miguel Ruiz|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1630664059l/6596._SY75_.jpg|376130]. I'm looking forward to many books in 2017, but even more to many interesting exchanges and reviews here on Goodreads. Cheers to 2017!