Top 5 of 2016

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

The end of the year is nigh. Thus comes my yearly Top 5 reads. These could be brand new or ones I've recently discovered. A non-traditional way, for me, of looking at the best: these are 'heart-books', ones that are still speaking to me long after finishing them. They might not even have 5-stars on Goodreads. They have lingered in my heart-space.

This has been an odd reading year. I glance at my ratings on Goodreads. Many 4-star reads and yet I feel unsatisfied. All the good books I think up I read the year previous. Stay tuned for a Worst of 2016 and Biggest Disappointments of 2016. Those are aplenty.

For now… the best.




1. Rules for a Knight, by Ethan Hawke (yes, that Ethan Hawke)

The most I've ever enjoyed a 'self-improvement' book. Structured as a father writing, on the eve of battle, to his children with advice on being a knight (or a lady, the rules do not vary). He instructs on generosity, discipline, modesty, and various other virtues through straight-to-the-point advice or stories of his grandfather. I read this out loud to my best friend, reading two a week and musing on the advice during the week. We came to revelations, disagreed, and at the end, we bawled. This is truly a heart-book.


2. The Paper Magician, by Charlie N. Holmberg

Chapter 1, I was whisked into a magical world. Chapter 1, I fell in love. Though it is short, it is but fierce. Ceony is a wonderful main character and she goes through some incredibly difficult challenges. My new love, Magician Emery Thane, is gentle and burning with intelligence. This is a heart-book too (for many reasons… read it and find why). Books two and three, here I come!


3. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers

Think Firefly. This book satisfies that hole in your life. Wonderful crew, wonderful interpersonal connections, and really COOL science fiction. My favourite character, Sissix, is this awesome pilot with the most interesting culture and societal structure. Really, the core of the book is 'family' and how one forms connections to others.


4. The Chimes, by Anna Smaill

This book blew me away. The more I think on it and let it stew, the more I love it. It'll probably do well with a reread. It begins quite difficultly - as the world is based on the idea that every night the chimes ring, all short term memory is wiped. People have a sense of who they are, not really what they do day in and day out. It's weird. And wonderful. Imagine reading someone's mind that fuzzy, almost like being in a person who has dementia or Alzheimer's. I love this book more for its view on music and its structure. The characters are forgetful (ironically).


5. The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Don't know why this dug into my core. I've not ugly cried for a book in a long while. I began laughing through my tears at the end because I couldn't finish the book, my tears blocked all vision. It's a quiet story, beginning with truly unlikable situations and ending with pure delight. Recommended to all.

Honourable Mentions:

Nod, by Jonathan Barnes

Creepy. This story sunk its teeth in and wouldn't let go. The 'villain' is terrifying. The dystopian aspect is terrifying. What if one day, all at once, people stopped sleeping? Thankfully, our narrator is one that sleeps, so his story is told through the eyes of someone sane watching the world fall around him. Also, set in Vancouver.


The Fell Sword, by Miles Cameron

Second book in the Traitor Son Cycle. This series is ah-mazing. I rave on and on about it, but really, it's ruined all fantasy for me now. I expect the large cast epics to be as good as this. I have to remind myself: not everyone can write like Cameron. More badassery, more political manoeuvring, and enough intelligence by those in power.


~ Cheers to a better reading year! ~

Disappointed 2016

Hello Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

What. A. Year.

Mostly, my life wasn't a big ball of flaming turd. Some of my reads were. Awards created special for each book. Check these out…

This got published?!

Reading like a pulpy 1950's book, 'The Seventh Miss Hatfield" by Anna Caltabiano dumbfounds me. The premise is cool. There's so much potential for this to be more. Instead, it reads like a first draft… maybe a second draft if I'm kind. No character development, little to no story, unbelievable situations, and terrible time travel.
Redeems itself?: the cover. It's awesome.


Consistency. What's that?

Flailing all over the place, "The Search for WondLa" by Tony DiTerlizzi is one of the biggest disappointments. Characters do not stay true to form. Many of them will go into cliche territory when
it's uncalled for in their nature. It was like the author said "I want this to happen" and picked a character at random to do it. No thought into if the character would actually do it to begin with. Great in idea, terrible in execution. Blech.
Redeems itself?: The illustrations are nice.


The Most Unrelateable

Turns out, it's really hard to have high stakes for gods. They just do whatever they want. In "Kojiki" by Keith Yatsuhashi, he tries his darnedest to make me care about entitled gods. He even throws in a mortal. It ended up being a soap opera with whining that could've been solved if they actually talked to each other and LISTENED!
Redeems itself?: Gorgeous cover. It subtly wraps around to the back.

Sci-Fi Pulp-iest

"Corpus Earthling" by Louis Charbonneau. Used bookstore find, hilarious
cover, weird title, and surprisingly boring and gave me the heebie-jeebies. Our main character is a professor who definitely abuses his privilege. He's so horny. Poor him. Go for a girl your own age instead of stalking your students. YUK. Not to mention a 150-page build to a 3-page climax where there's some alien creature that attacks him and … I don't even care anymore.
Redeems itself?: An awesome first chapter.

Biggest Disappointment

After finding my most favourite dragon book ever, I lept at the chance to read book two, "The Lesser Kindred" by Elizabeth Kerner. A sharp turn toward the fluff, I disliked a lot about this instalment. The main character and her new husband love each other, a lot, many times a day, and what? What is this? I am pregnant (reveal at the end because she's suddenly incredibly stupid). The first book, she rocked - explored, was curious, pushed boundaries, did whatever she wanted. This book had her become Susie-homemaker, in the background, on a forever-quest to find… something, I don't even recall now. I will finish this series and hold out hope that it wraps up nicely.
Redeems itself?: Dragons?

ANGRY. THIS ONE MADE ME ANGRY. 

Beautiful cover. Sold me on the idea that a woman ruled a land and led her people to freedom from tyranny. "Irenicon" by Aidan Harte, boasts a cool world, a sentient river (yes SENTIENT!!!), and a kick-ass woman.

OMG THE ANGER. Not even 20% of the way through this I realized there were few female characters and they were all plot devices. The main character (told, we were), bold and powerful woman, was barely there and was governed by ALL THE MEN in her life. Really, the only reason she's a woman (I've surmised) is so that she can negotiate treatises with marriage (because woman) AND fall in love with the ACTUAL main character, an engineer who is so smart he is so smart.

Sure, she kicks all the asses. But I've never read a woman, said to be a woman, portrayed in such a mannish manner. I love, LOVE women warrior novels. They are allowed to be soft, have emotions, think womanly things, have aspects generally associated as masculine, and still kick-ass. I hated this book.

The nun, trained our "main character" because reasons. Then she dies because, of course, one's teacher must die (says the cliched hero's arc).

Any other women mentioned. You guessed it. They die.

I angry read this one to finish it. Hated every moment. 100% would not recommend.
Redeems itself?: Nope.
.
.
.
I need a drink...

~ Cheers to better reading in 2017!~

Superlative Book Tag - 2016

Hi Book-sniffers and Librocubicalarists,

At long last I have found time in my busy schedule (har, har, I'm on holiday) to post. It's snowing out and I'm taking a break from all the reading and decorating. I've been around, but thanks to NaNoWriMo - which I won, yay - and the Christmas concert season, my time has been severely limited. 

I have had enough time to watch many, MANY videos though. One I loved and had to do myself is by A Book Olive. The Superlatives Book Tag, where she crafted a way to showcase books you've read during the year but maybe haven't talked about them so much. 

I read a lot of crap and so-so books this year. While many, hardly any are memorable. Here we go anyway...

Most Likely to be in the movies: a book that would make the best movie

Twilight of the Dragons, by Andy Remic. 

Second in a series, this book has all the makings of a 'Game of Thrones' audience. Characters needing redemption, loads of actions, and DRAGONS. 



Biggest Drama Queen/King: the most (overly) dramatic book or character

A Rose in Winter, by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss.
Holy wow was this book full of eye-roll moments. Abusive father, drunk brother, a mysterious dark stranger, a mysterious marriage, ALL THE THINGS. I was laughing at the unintentionally-hilarious dramatic reveals. 


Best Dressed: the book with the best cover


The Chimes, by Anna Smaill.
A striking cover playing with negative space: beautiful water colour blues and a tinge of yellow, the silhouette of St. Paul's Cathedral and a bird (both significant to the story). The most surprising element that took me forever to catch. At first you notice only the violin's body shape, the two cut outs are actually the profiles of two different boys, our main characters. Well thought out. 


Most Creative: most unique plot, structure, or character

Cannonbridge, by Jonathan Barnes.
For having put off this book forever, this book sucked me in. The present day story is 'interrupted' by chapters of this famous, enigmatic author (Cannonbridge) interacting with various other famous authors from Dickens to Oscar Wilde. These were by far my favourite part of the whole. Of course it all came back around in a mild-melting ending. 

Runner up: The Chimes (again… yes…)
How do you tell a story about constant memory loss? Have repeating, foggy remembrances of things you just finished reading about. So difficult to get into the style and well worth it in the end. 


Most Popular (most read) on Goodreads

The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas
According to my Goodreads "Year in Books", at least. 900,000 readers. That's pretty good for a classic. Also a chunker of a book, 1000+ pages. And it went on and on and on. A classic revenge tale, but holy cow the revenge takes place over a lifetime. That's a grudge I'd never want to hold. 


Most Likely to Succeed: a book that will be appreciated in years to come

The Fell Sword, by Miles Cameron (book 2)
This whole series should receive more attention. A memorable cast of hundreds, masterful interweaving of story lines, complex political situations, and creative otherworldly creatures. The first book and this (hopefully, I'll continue the series with praise) have spoiled most complex books for me. None will ever be as good as these. 


Class Clown: a book that made you laugh

Beyond Heaving Bosoms, by Sarah Wendell & Candy Tan
Talk about a book that is intentionally funny, my sides hurt from laughing at a multitude of passages from this romp. It disects and comments on all things "Romance Book" related. Now I've always enjoyed Romance books for their silliness and happiness. Popcorn books to enjoy between the dense, depressing ones. HIGHLY recommended for anyone who's ever been afraid of sharing that they love reading Romance. And Lord, it's funny. 


Most Improved: a book that started out slow and then picked up

Goldenhand, by Garth Nix.
For fans of this universe, Nix spared no expense in indulgent wonder. We get to explore the world more fully, through the eyes of Lirael (and my least favourite aspect of the book - Ferrin). While Ferrin's chapters dragged, Lirael's basked in the world. It all came together with a push to the plot and a quick ending.

Cutest Couple

An Irish Country Doctor, by Patrick Taylor
The couple in this, Barry and Patricia, are lovely. They are courting each other tenderly and tentatively. Also, she's an engineer. She worries that he will be intimidated by her career focus. He worries that he'll not have enough time for her. It's a lovely budding romance.  

I must admit, this one was difficult. Glancing at my books no one stood out to me. None were 'cute'. I changed the word in my head to 'endearing'. The type of couple that gives you cozy, love vibes - not passionate engulfment. I find sometimes passion gets misconstrued as love, or perhaps it's another person's version of love. I find love to be quiet and unassuming. Not many books carried this sentiment for me. 

Biggest Heartbreaker: book that broke your heart

So many let me down… therefore broke my heart. Left me disappointed and wanting. 

Only one book made me bawl the ugly bawl. And why? It was so happy. Not sad. Therefore, I change the interpretation to 'the book that had the most emotional impact'. 

The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
I hated HATED the main character at the beginning of the novel. She grew on me, the garden grew on me, and all was good in the end. 


Since this year was so terrible for memorable or decent reads, I'll have to do a 'worst of 2016' along with my 'best of 2016'. 

To a better reading year, 2017!
~Happy Reading!~